Creepy Doll
by Dlbn
Summary: Aoyagi Ritsuka has just moved to a new town and bought a new allegedly haunted house. Ritsuka doesn't believe the rumors, but just what is making that noise behind the door that is supposed to lead to nowhere? *Based on a song but not a song fic*
1. The Town

Dlbn: Hello there everyone! Welcome to my Loveless Halloween fanfic! Now, I know it's way too early for Halloween, but this story is so long it needs more than one chapter. I'll try to update once or twice a week so, so that I get it all done by Halloween day, when I'll post the conclusion.

Nbld: Sounds good. Now let's get started. This story is based off of a song, but we won't reveal that song's name until the end of the story, that way no one can listen to the song and learn the ending early. Mwahaha.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Loveless or anyone in it. It all belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off of writing this story.

Disclaimer 2: I do NOT own the song *** by ***, which this fic is based off of. I make NO money out of referencing it.

000

It had been five years since that fateful day. Aoyagi Ritsuka's mother had finally snapped upon learning that her now ex-husband, Ritsuka's father Aoyagi Aidien, had had an affair and was leaving her for the woman he cheated with; Her and her ten year old son and their not yet born daughter. She was too far gone to realize that lighting the house up in flames was not only inappropriate and life-threatening, but would also kill them both. Ritsuka had bounced from foster home to foster home after that incident. He had no other family that could-or would, he reminded himself with a grim grin-take him in, so the foster care system as his only choice. He hated it. Some homes were better than others, some worse than his own former home. They could never predict how his memory issues, clinical depression, and general annoyance at the world would cause several families to send him away for being too 'difficult'. The last woman he was with was a kind old lady in her mid-forties. She had six other foster kids and her own two biological daughters, but she took the time to make sure every child in her care felt special and important. That was part of the reason why Ritsuka had been saddened to learn that once he was eighteen, he'd have to go and be on his own instead. She had insisted he could stay, but the foster system had practically grabbed him by the collar and tossed him out the front door the day after his eighteenth birthday.

'Happy birthday, Ritsuka.' He had thought, bitterly. 'Here's your stuff, enjoy being homeless'.

Lucky for him, he still had some older friends that he could crash with for a while. Being twenty years old, he had gotten tired of living off of his friends a year or so ago and had turned to stocks and trading in order to make up some money. He wasn't a genius, but he was intelligent enough to learn when to invest and when to let go of an investment and cash in on it as soon as he could. He'd racked up a small fortune that he planned on working on and increasing once he found his own place. He hadn't found anything in his budget in Tokyo or surrounding cities, and that was what brought him to the country in search of a home. He was going to meet with a real estate agent he'd been communicating with for the past two weeks about an old two-story, one bedroom home he'd found online. When Ritsuka stepped off his bus and was able to at last stretch his tired limbs, he took the time to look around the small town. He was staying in a hotel for the night and meeting the agent tomorrow. The town had a bit of an eerie feeling about it. The foggy night was accentuated by pale golden streetlights, and a good half of the houses and building looked decimated. He shuddered as he made his way to the hotel he was going to be staying in. It was nestled between a couple small homes behind the center of the town, where a chipped and waterless fountain was standing. He pushed open the door and walked in, thankful that the chill in the air hadn't penetrated the air inside.

The young black haired male at the counter smiled a rather creepy grin as the traveler approached the front desk.

"Greetings." The man stated. "You must be Aoyagi-san."

"Yes, I am." Ritsuka's ears perked in interest. "How did you guess?"

"We haven't had a visitor in this town in years…you're the only one I was expecting for the night."

"Oh."

The man chuckled; a dark, rather eerie sound. Ritsuka fought off the shiver.

"So…yeah…it was one twenty-five for the night, right?"

"For the first guest in over a century? Make it twenty-five." He grinned.

"Are…are you sure…? If you don't get a lot of business, how is charging me less going to help you profit?"

"Ah, you're some sort of businessman, I see. Business has never been my strong suit, actually. But I figure there's no harm in doing something nice for a stranger that might one day become one of us."

"Why thank you." Ritsuka handed the man the money he had asked for. "I really appreciate this."

"You'll need every penny you can get together to get that old place. There were a ton of people from town that have checked it out in the past, but no one ever took it. The last time someone looked at it was a few years ago. A stranger like you, but he came and left the same day. Didn't need a room." The man handed Ritsuka a key.

"Name's Akame Nisei." He stated. 'If you want anything, give me a ring." He tapped on the rotary phone sitting on the counter.

"I will, thank you."

"Goodnight, stranger."

"Goodnight, Akame-san."

Ritsuka left the counter to go to the stairs for the second floor, as he had been given the key to room 217. He didn't hear the young hotel worker chuckle quietly and mutter under his breath into the phone receiver as he left. If he did, the events that followed probably wouldn't have transpired.

000

The following morning, Ritsuka was woken up by the sound of chirping birds and the bright sunlight shoving its way into his room. He got out of bed and pushed open the rather disgusting colored curtains on the windows out of the way and was surprised as what he saw. The town that had seemed so abandoned and depressing the night before was now lively and overflowing with life. A good hundred people or so were rushing around, creating a hustle and bustle he hadn't seen since he lived in Tokyo before his mother went psychotic. He leaned on the window frame as he pushed the window open to let in a little air. The room had gotten surprisingly stuffy overnight. He took his time getting dressed and packing up his suitcase that would be staying there in case he didn't get the house. He wondered why so many people were turned off of it. With a shrug, he went downstairs and was greeted by Akame at the front desk.

"Have a good sleep?" He wondered.

"Yeah, I did, thanks." Ritsuka nodded. "But I'm a little hungry. Tell me, where is the best place in town for breakfast?"

"Well, many locals prefer the café down the road, Lazuli Cappuccino." Akame stated. "I'm not a fan of coffees, but their deserts and breakfast items are to _die_ for." He chuckled.

"Great, sounds like a place I should try." Ritsuka smiled. "I know this is going to sound odd, but the town seemed…dead…last night. The fountain was destroyed and had no water, most building were dark as a pit…"

"Oh, they shut the fountain off at night. As for the homes, most everyone is well on their way to the dream world by eight PM. You arrived here at nine."

"I see. Makes sense. I'm just paranoid. Being in a new town and all."

"I see."

"I won't keep you from…whatever it is you do when no one is here. I should go." Ritsuka offered, stomach growling. "Should I get you something?"

"Ah, no thanks. I ate already."

"Alright. See you later." He waved as he left.

The doors swung shut behind Ritsuka; a deafening clank following. The people of the town seemed to stop and stare before moving back to what they were doing before as if it had never happened. Ritsuka began walking, not quite certain where this café was. 'Down the road' wasn't a very good direction. He passed many different kinds of people; from women in knee-length dresses and men in ties to scruffy street kids and a couple punk rockers with oddly colored hair. There was a group of people around his age sitting near the fountain playing some kind of card game. He was surprised that the fountain was repaired compared to the day before, and that crystal clear water was rushing form the spouts. The kids were lucky that their cards weren't getting wet and ruined by the water. He spotted a young boy with dark hair and grey tips sitting on the other side of the fountain reading a book and decided to ask him where the Café was.

"Excuse me." He greeted, pleased that the other had looked up and smiled instead of getting startled or telling him to get lost. "I'm looking for Lazuli Cappuccino. Do you happen to know where it is?"

"Sure, it's about six buildings down that street." The boy greeted, shutting his book and adjusting his wire-rimmed glasses on his nose. "You're…not from around here, are you…?"

"No, I'm new to town." Ritsuka admitted. "I'm meeting with a real estate agent today."

"Real estate? There are unoccupied homes in town?"

"Well, it's kind of right outside of town."

"The house with the red roof over on top of the hill?"

The boy nodded in the direction Ritsuka would need to go later. The plum eyed neko turned and spotted a grassy hill at the end of the cobblestone path, which turned to dirt and traveled up the hill. There was a little light grey house with a red roof and red window frames sitting on the grassy top of the hill.

"Yeah, that's the one." Ritsuka nodded.

The other boy paled and stood quickly. "Whatever you do, don't buy it." He warned.

"Huh? Why not?"

"That place is cursed!" The boy countered, making some people stare. "There's a _reason_ no one ever goes in there and all potential residents are scared away. There's an evil presence in that place. It's even forbidden for townspeople to go there!"

"Cursed?" Ritsuka laughed. "Curses don't exist!"

Though one could say _his_ life was cursed with all the bad things that had happened to him in life. Form getting a concussion and suffering severe memory loss when he was ten to his mother's beatings and eventually his mother committing both homicide and suicide in one foul swoop, he was stuck in a string of misery.

"They say someone died in there a few years ago and has been haunting it ever since. People have seen weird lights and pearl white orbs around the area when they're alone at night."

"Seriously?" Ritsuka cocked an eyebrow. "Sounds like something off of Paranormal Encounters."

One of his first foster brothers had been obsessed with that show and convinced he should hold a séance.

"I heard that the house is built on top of an old cemetery, and the spirits of the people who were buried there were angered and cursed the house." A pink haired girl informed quietly. "Whatever the truth is, it freaks me out!"

"They sound like a couple of tall tales to me." Ritsuka commented. "I don't believe in that kind of thing."

"Trust me," the bespectacled neko stated, "if you go there, you'll notice just how creepy it is and run away just like everyone else. Don't you have somewhere else to go?"

"Nothing I can find in my budget."

"What about your parents?" The girl wondered.

"My mother killed herself and my father in a fire in a psychotic rage when I was in school when I was fifteen. I don't have parents. The foster system won't let me stay with my foster mother anymore, and because of my age, she can't adopt me."

"That's horrible!" The girl launched at him with a hug, making his ears shoot up. "You poor thing…"

"And you don't' believe in that kind of thing?" The boy scoffed. "Sounds like something possessed your mother."

Ritsuka rolled his eyes. "She was always unstable, even when I was a kid, but I honestly don't remember that far back. Memory loss when I was ten."

"You're just a victim of circumstance, aren't you?" The boy tsked. "I'm sorry all that happened to you, but you really shouldn't go there. It's for your own good."

Ritsuka shrugged. "It can't hurt to check it out."

"Just try and be careful…" The pinkette offered.

"Come on, Yuiko, he's clearly not going to listen. Enjoy your breakfast."

The boy stalked off, his bubbly pink haired companion giving chase. Ritsuka sighed and shook his head as he continued on to the café.


	2. The Realtor

Dlbn: Hey everyone! Welcome back! So glad this fic is getting positive response from people. I'm working really hard on it. I wrote two of the major parts of it last night at work and I'm excited to continue going.

Nbld: Updates will be every few days since Halloween is closer than anyone would like to admit.

Dlbn: Not liking to admit it cuz the sooner it gets here, the sooner it's over. Not like I can enjoy it anyway, I work 3:30-midnight on Saturdays and Sundays. So now Halloween and no post-Halloween 50% off sales for me.

Nbld: Well no more whining. Time for the Review Corner! Thank you to Promocat for reviewing! Candy for you!

Promocat: Thank you!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Loveless or anyone in it. It all belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off of writing this story.

Disclaimer 2: I do NOT own the song *** by ***, which this fic is based off of. I make NO money out of referencing it.

000

Café Lazuli was vibrant and full of life when Ritsuka finally found it five or six minutes after the paranoid couple's departing. To think that people would actually believe a house was haunted or cursed just because of a few stories that had most likely been spread to keep children from leaving the village at night. He approached the counter and ordered a blueberry muffin and a cup of warm tea. The young neko turned to take the items back to his table and bumped into a taller man with blonde hair and glasses. His tea spilled on the man's suit coat.

"Gomen!" Ritsuka apologized, offering napkins. "I didn't see you there. God, I didn't mean that. I'll pay for it, promise!"

The attractive blonde chuckled, wiping off the tea. "It's quite alright. It didn't burn, and a stain can be taken care of. I should have excused myself before walking." He replied. "My apologies."

"Oh…um…it's okay. I turned fast." Ritsuka rubbed the back of his neck.

"Here, let me get you a new tea. Hitomi-chan! Warm tea, please!"

"With milk!" Ritsuka added out of habit.

The brunette behind the counter flushed and made the drink, handing it to the blonde.

"You didn't have to do that." Ritsuka stated. "Let me pay to get that cleaned…"

"No worries. My roommate runs the Laundromat. He'll do it for me for free." The man offered. "I was in a rush this morning. I have a meeting in an hour and I didn't think I had enough time to get to the office before the guy I'm meeting for the walkthrough got there."

"Walkthrough?" Ritsuka's ears perked. "Oh! Are you a real estate agent?"

"I am. Well done." He nodded.

"Well, you're in luck. I'm Aoyagi Ritsuka." The neko led him out of the crowd to get to a table. "I'm the one you're meeting today."

"Well, what a lucky day for me." The blonde chuckled. "Pleased to meet you. I'm Agatsuma Soubi."

"A pleasure to meet you as well." Ritsuka bowed. "If you need to go to the office, I can wait for you. I have no other plans."

"You're more than welcome to go to the real estate office with me, if you'd like. The file I need to get is on the home I'm showing you."

"The one on the hill, right?" Ritsuka asked. "I'm wondering because some locals were trying to convince me that the place is haunted and to stay away."

"It's most definitely not haunted." Soubi froze as if he hardly believed his own words. "I think you'll like it."

"I figured it wasn't haunted. Just thought I should say something. They tried to warn me away."

"Children, hm?" Soubi chuckled. "What would you do without them?"

"They were around my age, actually."

Soubi frowned but covered it up quickly. "Such vivid imaginations for adults. So, where are you staying? The Inn?"

"I am, actually." It was the only place in town for visiting persons to stay. "It's a nice hotel. I met the man at the front desk. He's pretty nice."

"Glad to hear it. Akame-san can be… _abrasive_ sometimes."

"Oh, he was very pleasant."

Soubi smiled as if that meant something important to him. "Excellent. So I trust your stay here has been well so far?"

Ritsuka nodded. "It has been. Other than spilling my tea on you."

Soubi chuckled. "If that was the low point of your trip, I'd say it's a rather accomplished one."

"As would I."

Soubi smiled. "I'm glad. We don't get guests here much. It's just so far out of the way."

"I like the tranquility of it." Ritsuka replied. "I'm from Kyoto, but my family moved to Tokyo when I was ten, after my memory loss."

"Memory loss? My apologies."

"It's alright. Can't help it, I guess." Ritsuka shrugged. "Things happen, really."

Soubi nodded. "I imagine the countryside is a lot different than the city."

"You can say that again." Ritsuka chuckled.

It seemed like it was going to be a good trip after all, even with the words of the young couple ringing in the back of his mind.

000

"So, as you can see, it's a two-story, one bedroom home. It still has its structure and fixtures from the decade it was built, but it's been kept up to date with modern appliances and changes to the infrastructure as needed." Soubi prattled on.

Ritsuka was seated on a chair in the man's office at the real estate office, flipping through the file on his possible new home.

"It's real nice." The neko offered, looking through some photos of the different rooms.

He saw one picture of a door that was a little strange. The door itself was fine, but the fact that someone had taken a picture of a _door_ was weird. There was no following picture to show the inside of the room that the door went to.

"What's with the door?" Ritsuka wondered.

"Ah, it's an old escape route from war times." Soubi stated. "It's been long since sealed off, but the door was left there to keep the history of the home alive. A lot of famous revolutionaries lived there throughout the centuries, and it would be a shame to completely destroy evidence of their time spent here, would it not?"

"Yeah, it would be. I just thought it was weird you showed me a picture of a door but no photographs of what's behind it."

When Ritsuka looked back down at the file in front of him, Soubi frowned. The kid was asking too many questions, but he suppose he should have expected that. He wouldn't have included the door if it wasn't for his friend insisting it was an essential and important piece of the home and simply couldn't be ignored. Though, honestly, if he had known the intentions of that 'friend' back then, he never would have helped him.

"I probably should have mentioned that." Soubi chuckled. "What do you think? Want to go take a look?"

"I don't know if I need to take a look." Ritsuka shook his head, smiling up at the real estate agent. "I'm pretty certain I'm going to take it."

"You are?" Soubi sounded surprised. "I mean, that's great. You just made your decision so quickly…"

"It's a nice home, and I honestly don't have anywhere else to go."

Soubi frowned. "This may be a little forward, but if you want more time to think about it but don't want to have to pay for the hotel, you're more than welcome to…uh…stay at my place…I have a spare room…"

"Oh!" Ritsuka flushed. "Yes, that's a little forward…but…I'm flattered."

The blonde flushed as well.

"But I think I'm going to take the house, no further questions asked on my end."

"Really? Well, you're rather easy to please. No offense." Soubi chuckled. "Well, let's draw up the paperwork, fill it out, and then I'll take you to your new home. Sound good?"

"Sounds like the way to do things, yes." Ritsuka smiled gently.

Soubi pulled paperwork out of his desk and began to work. Beside himself, Ritsuka bounced on his toes in his seat. Finally, he was going to have a permanent place to call home.

000

Ritsuka opened the front door of his new home with the brass key Soubi had given him that had his house's address number etched into the metal. The blonde stood behind him, smiling sadly as the boy bounced on his toes again. He was happy to have made a sale and had made the orphan happy, but he knew what would befall the boy later and wasn't proud to be a part of it. But when his friends wanted something, they tended to get it. Ritsuka opened the door and flipped on a light, hoping there was some kind of electricity inside. Luckily for him, the lights turned on almost automatically.

"It has electric already?" He wondered.

"Of course." Soubi nodded. "The houses and buildings here in town are all on the town's electric system. The town taxes go into funding the electricity. It's a rather efficient way of doing things around here."

"That explains why almost every building was pitch-black when I got in last night."

Soubi nodded. "Certain buildings have light twenty-four seven. Like the hotel, and town hall."

"Makes sense, I guess. Though from what you and Akame-san have said, there aren't many visitors to this town."

"You're right." Soubi nodded. "But the hotel is open twenty-four seven just in case."

"It's good to be prepared."

Soubi nodded. "Now, how about the grand tour?"

"I'd like that, Soubi, thank you."

Soubi nodded, leading Ritsuka by the wrist to a room to the left. "This here is the kitchen. As I said, everything is up to date in the appliance department." He began talking. "Through here we have the main hallway, which leads to the downstairs bathroom, pantry, closet, and the living and sitting rooms."

Ritsuka followed the man all throughout the first and second floors, listening to him excitedly go on and on about the features in each room and what was best about them. The bedroom was small but not too small, and the bathroom contained a rather impressive shower. Everything else didn't really matter to him, as long as electricity and heating worked, and he had a bed to sleep in and a place to sit downstairs, he was happy. It wasn't like he had many possessions. Even the amount of clothing he had was minimal at this point in time. Maybe eventually he'd have more, but not now. He had to focus on getting a job in town and making money from said job first. It wasn't that he was money hungry, he just didn't want to be caught off guard I a situation where he needed money and didn't have access to any. It would be awkward to bother his friends back in Tokyo for money. Even though they were more than willing to help out when he needed help, he wasn't going to take their money. He knew they'd never make him pay them back, but he'd feel terrible borrowing money and not returning it. He was strange that way, really.

"I think that's everything." Soubi stated as they stood at the top of the stairwell. "Anything I'm missing?"

"You skipped right over that." Ritsuka nodded towards the door that led to nowhere.

"Ah, right. Well, this is the infamous door to nothing." Soubi stated, seeming a bit nervous to be talking about it.

"Oh, come on. Don't tell me you believe the stories from town. I thought you were smarter than that."

"You thought I'm smart?"

"Well, you got me to buy this place just by showing me a folder. Either you're a genius or you can control minds."

Soubi chuckled. "Perhaps it's both."

"Maybe so."

Soubi smiled at the slightly shorter ravenette.

"Say…um…I don't really know anyone in town…so…um…would you like to…I don't know…christen my new house?"

"I'm flattered that you would invite me to something like that." Soubi smiled gently. "To be honest, I don't have many friends here, either. My friend who owns the Laundromat, Kio, is really the only friend I have around here."

Ritsuka smiled gently. "I know how hard it can be not having friends or people to hang out with where you live. I never stayed in a foster home long enough to make friends. Until the last one. I made tons of friends out in Gora."

"Gora, hum?" Soubi wondered. "You don't say. I used to live there."

"Oh really? Small world."

"Yeah, my parents died in a car accident, and my mother's…um…best friend…took me in."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Thank you. I was eight."

"I was fifteen when my mother killed herself and my father in a fire in a psychotic rage while I was in school."

"That's awful. To come home to that…"

"They pulled me out of school, actually. I went into foster care that same day."

"That had to be hard to handle. My apologies."

This kid's back story was getting more and more depressing as they spoke.

"It's alright. It's been years since then." Ritsuka shrugged.

"I suppose." Soubi replied. "Well, I'll let you get settled in. I'll come by tonight around six?"

"Sounds good. Thank you."

"You're welcome." Soubi placed a light kiss on the neko's head before leaving.

Ritsuka flushed, surprised at the action. But he didn't have time to worry or think about that. For now, he had to go get his stuff from the hotel and get some stuff for Soubi coming over later. The thought almost made him giddy. Sure, he barely knew the man, but he _was_ the only person around he'd consider a friend…other than Akame from the hotel, but he didn't feel like inviting him as well. As Ritsuka slammed the door behind him to leave for the hotel, a rattling noise began coming from behind the door that led to nowhere.


	3. The Doll

Dlbn: I put the second chapter into the document manager to upload as a new chapter…AND FORGOT! Due to this terrible error, I'm going to post two chapters in one day. To resume a semi-normal schedule and be on time for Halloween in two weeks, I'll post the fourth chapter on Monday. I was wondering why I hadn't gotten any reviews or new hits (people viewing) on this story and why the live preview only showed chapter one…

Nbld: Idiot so because of the two chapter thing, no Review Corner today. We'll just do a double Review Corner on Monday with chapter four.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Loveless or anyone in it. It all belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off of writing this story.

Disclaimer 2: I do NOT own the song *** by ***, which this fic is based off of. I make NO money out of referencing it.

000

It was a little awkward having Soubi over for dinner so suddenly, Ritsuka noted as he cleaned the plates off the kitchen table. Sure, the blonde was nice and rather attractive, but he was his _real estate agent_. Surely Soubi thought it was strange that the neko had invited him over for dinner to celebrate his new home. It wasn't like his previous foster family could or would travel out that far to see his new house, and he knew his former roommates and older friends didn't have the funds to get there, and he didn't really have many friends outside of them to come and see him. His entire family was gone, so he couldn't invite any of them either. Well, he had extended family like his aunt and uncle and their spoiled daughter, but they didn't really like him and he didn't really like them. They could have taken him in, as they were family and _rich_ family at that, but they didn't want him around; forever branding him as the strange only child of his deranged mother and absentee father. He didn't care. His cousin always rubbed him the wrong way. She was always bragging about the things her family was doing and tossing in an 'it's too bad you'll never be able to afford to do that!' in with it. Her parents knew how she was, but never said anything. She'd even acted up at the funeral, but no one had done anything to stop it even though Ritsuka had desperately tried to throw her out.

"I brought dessert. Hope you don't mind." Soubi announced.

Ritsuka snapped from his thoughts and smiled gently at the blonde. "Oh, you didn't mention that before." He stated. "That's…er…rather nice of you."

He could have bought a dessert, but he had tried to make one on his own instead and burnt it beyond recognition after falling asleep in the living room while it was cooking. It felt and sounded crazy, but he could have sworn a voice had startled him awake to bring his attention to his almost burning his new home down. But he had to have been imaging it…right…? There was no way voices woke him up. He'd be crazy to believe that. Sure, he came from crazy, unstable DNA, but that didn't mean _he_ would be crazy too.

Soubi smiled gently. "A surprise. I hope you didn't make something already."

"Oh, no, I burnt it."

Soubi laughed. "Well, then I guess it's me to the rescue, hm?"

He opened the bag of plastic silverware Ritsuka had bought and pulled a tray containing a little cake off of the floor to set it on the table. It read 'welcome home' in blue icing on the top.

"That's sweet." Ritsuka smiled gently. "And it looks adorable."

Soubi blushed. "Thanks."

He cut off two slices and put each slice on a paper plate. They each took one and dug into the dessert.

"I hope tonight wasn't too awkward for you." Soubi stated. "I'd hate to offend a friend."

"Oh, there's no offense at all." Ritsuka waved him off. "It was a little awkward, I admit. Um…was it okay for you…?"

"Fine by me." He handed Ritsuka a card. "From my roommate."

Ritsuka opened the envelope to find a card reading 'welcome to the neighborhood' written on it in gold calligraphy on a dark blue-grey background. Inside there was a note welcome him and telling him he 'better not break Soubi's heart' or he'd 'be in big trouble'. Ritsuka laughed.

"Break your heart? What does he mean by that?"

Soubi sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "God damn it, Kio." He stated. "I…er…may have told him…I don't know…that you were cute or…or something…"

Ritsuka blushed. "R-really…?" He wondered, receiving a nod in reply. "Well…erm…you are…too…you know…"

"T-thank you."

Soubi bowed his head to hide the grin stretching over his face. It quickly faded away to a tiny smile that may as well have not been there.

"So…er…what do we do about that…?" Soubi wondered.

Ritsuka choked on his cake. "E-Excuse me?" He wondered once he finally managed to stop coughing.

"What?" Soubi shrugged. "Sorry. This whole…flirting…thing…isn't really my style."

"Then stick to your 'style' or I may choke to death."

"Well, that wouldn't be good."

Ritsuka looked away, flushing. "Unless…you want me to…"

"Choke?"

"Yeah."

"Why would I want that?"

"Not on food…"

Soubi blinked. "Oh…"

"Yeah, one of my friends tried a line like that on a girl once. It…didn't go over well…"

Soubi chuckled. "Well, it's going over fine with me." He stood, offering Ritsuka a hand.

Ritsuka smiled gently and took it, allowing Soubi to pull him off towards the bedroom upstairs. As they passed the door that led to nothing, Ritsuka felt a chill in the air. Either from anticipation or from…he wasn't sure what.

000

Ritsuka straightened his tie as he sat in front of the editor for the local newspaper the next afternoon. They were hiring for a full time photographer. He had printed off some photographs that he had taken a while ago at the local library to use as a portfolio of his work and applied for the job. The secretary was pretty nice, if not a little rushed to get everything over with. He felt a little weird not having ears anymore, but it wasn't something he was completely worried about. He looked…older…without ears. The night before had started off awkward, got more awkward, and then suddenly turned into pure bliss. He blushed as he shook the memories out of his head. Metaphorically speaking, anyway. Doing so in front of his potential new boss would be horrifying and maybe even cost him the job.

The man behind the desk seemed rather interested in Ritsuka's photographs. He spent a good five minutes looking at one in particular before closing the portfolio.

"I don't need to see any more." He smiled. "You've got the job."

"I do?" Ritsuka perked up. "T-Thank you so much!"

The man chuckled. "You're welcome, kid. How does fifteen bucks an hour sound? You can get a raise to eighteen bucks an hour after 30 days. We don't offer many benefits, but our health insurance does cover medical expenses up to three hundred a month. Anything over that is negotiable." He prattled on. "Sound good to you?"

"Sounds great! Thank you!"

"Great. Can you start tomorrow night? There's the town parade I need photographs of. It's Founder's day tomorrow."

"I can start whenever you need me."

"Great, be here at eight PM for a briefing. The parade starts at nine, but I want to get photographs from before it begins as well. I'll see you later, kid."

They both stood and bowed.

"Thank you. You won't regret this." Ritsuka grinned.

As soon as he was let out of the room, Ritsuka briskly walked outside and booked it downtown to the real estate office. Soubi wouldn't believe this.

000

Soubi groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose as he listened to the man on the other end of the line scream obscenities at him.

"He's _getting impatient!"_ The other male chirped. " _And instead of doing what you're supposed to and getting the hell_ out _of there, you go and not only have dinner with the guy…but_ sleep _with him? Agatsuma Soubi, where the_ hell _is your head?!"_

"Would you shut _up_?" Soubi wondered. "There's no rule saying I can't sleep with someone just because _he_ marked him."

"That's because only an _idiot_ would do it!"

"Why do you even need me to help anyway? Just use your friend like you did before I came around."

" _Mimuro skipped town and vowed that he would not only refuse to return here, but he'd also never_ help _me again!_ " The other voice snarled. " _I don't have a choice presently but to use you. So quit_ fucking _up!"_

"Unless he complains, I'm not listening to this. You just like the sound of your own voice."

The chime on the door dinged.

"I gotta go." Soubi hung up while the other man shouted at him.

The blonde was about to give his usual greeting, but was greeted by the sight of an earless, grinning Ritsuka.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Soubi wondered.

"I got a photography job at the newspaper." Ritsuka grinned, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"Oh? Ritsuka, that's wonderful." Soubi pulled him close to put a brief, chaste kiss on the younger male's lips. "Congratulations."

"Thank you." Ritsuka grinned. "Now I can afford furniture…and better food…"

Soubi chuckled. "Why, yes you can."

Ritsuka smiled. "Never thought things would be so easy just from making one simple move…"

"There aren't many people around here who even know how to operate a camera, let alone how to do it well. Besides, I had no doubts that you wouldn't get the job." He tapped Ritsuka on the nose. "I'm stuck here until seven, so why don't you go out and celebrate. Or go home and lay down a bit. With all the excitement, you may run yourself into the ground if you're not careful."

"Yeah, I'll try." Ritsuka stated.

The phone on the desk began to ring.

"My job is never done." Soubi chuckled, kissing Ritsuka on the nose. "Go, have fun, relax."

Ritsuka chuckled. "Okay, okay. Don't work yourself too hard. You're going to need a lot of energy for later."

Soubi just stared in surprise as Ritsuka left, laughing. The phone began ringing again and he picked it up.

"Realty office. This is Agatsuma Soubi." He greeted.

"I know who it is, you idiot." The voice of the annoyed man from earlier quipped at him. I'm the one who called you."

Soubi groaned.

000

Later that night, after Soubi's roommate had called and begged him to come home to kill a 'huge freaking spider' and the blonde had left to handle the situation, Ritsuka lay in his new bed, staring up at the ceiling. He couldn't believe it. Within a few short days of living in the new town, he already had a nice house, what he guessed he'd consider a boyfriend, and was starting a nice new job with good pay in the morning. And people back home had told him not to leave, and that couple from the other day had warned him that the house was haunted and bad news. Ritsuka couldn't help but laugh as he ground the palms of his hands into his eyes. They were all foolish. Sure, he'd been nervous when he first decided to move, but he was fine now. Everything was going great. Ritsuka rolled to his side and closed his eyes as he got comfortable. He was almost asleep when a loud banging sound down the hall startled him up into a seated position. Had he stupidly left an upstairs window open, though the crisp fall air was beginning to settle in around town? He tossed aside the covers and grabbed a flashlight to go see what all the noise was about. Maybe Soubi had come back and had tripped in the dark.

Ritsuka turned on the flashlight and made his way down the hall. As soon as he set foot outside of his bedroom, he heard the pounding again. That couldn't have been Soubi tripping _again_. He would have seen him this time. Ritsuka passed the door that led to nowhere and put one foot on the top step of his stairs. As soon as he did so, the thump came again from behind him. He turned to spot nothing but the nowhere door. It wasn't possible that the door was slamming open and shut from the wind, since Soubi said those escape tunnels had been sealed off some time ago. But the thumping was definitely coming from behind the door, louder this time. With a shaky hand, Ritsuka gripped the doorknob.

 _It leads to nowhere. Soubi wouldn't lie to me. It leads to nowhere. It leads to nowhere._ Ritsuka repeated the thoughts in his head like a mantra.

Still, he turned the doorknob and slightly pushed on it. The door opened with a 'click' of a disengaging lock. Ritsuka was confused. Soubi said this doorway led to _nowhere_ , but yet it was opening and leading to _somewhere_ , and that _somewhere_ had noises coming from it. Why would Soubi lie? Maybe he didn't know? Ritsuka pushed the door open more and shone the flashlight into the room. It looked like some kind of closet storage area. There were a few boxes and a couple other things he didn't really care about, but nothing in there that could have made the noise. He heard a rustling and shown the flashlight in that direction. Something moved near the outside of the flashlight and Ritsuka moved his flashlight to see what it was. Not seeing anything, he moved the flashlight away, only to more it back again when he heard more shuffling. This time, he was greeted by a little doll, about a foot tall, staring up at him. It had to have fallen out of its box. Upon closer inspection, he noted that it was a raven haired neko doll with one open plum eye, and one closed one. Strangely enough, it looked a little like him, but with neko ears that Ritsuka no longer had. It wore a long tattered green raincoat buttoned over a shirt and ripped pants, but it was barefoot.

"Huh…must have fallen out of a box." Ritsuka muttered.

The doll's closed eye open and shut as if it blinked. Ritsuka took a bit of a step back. There was no way the doll had just _blinked_ at him. It had to be hundreds of years old and couldn't be working or battery operated, for that matter.

"Greetings." The doll spoke, breaking into a wide grin that showed off its teeth; some missing. "I am Seimei. Who are you?"

Ritsuka screamed and fell back on his rear end. "You…you talk…?" He wondered.

The doll took a few stiff steps forward, not bending at the knees like a person would. "Of course I talk. You're not hearing voices, you know." It let out a sinister sounding laugh but quickly broke back into a big grin.

"But…doll…dolls don't…"

Seimei blinked. "Don't what? Talk? Walk?" He turned himself in a circle. "Dance?"

Ritsuka pushed himself away. What kind of nonsense was this? "This has to be a prank…right…?" he wondered. "Did…did Soubi put you up to this? Or those kids from the square who said this place was haunted?"

This 'doll' had to be a little person or a child, not an actual doll. That's the only way any of this made sense. Soubi and his friend or the young couple in the town square had paid him to do this.

"Soubi?" Seimei laughed. "No, no, he's not paying me to do this. If that's what you're thinking."

"You can't be a doll."

Seimei lifted up his coat and showed Ritsuka what was underneath. Flesh colored material became black on the bottom to be pants.

"You…you _are_ a doll…a living…talking… _doll_!"

"Yes, I am. Now you get it!" Seimei grinned.

"I…no…this can't be happening. Those people weren't right. There's no such thing as a haunted house."

"Or talking, walking, living, breathing dolls?" Seimei wondered. "Then I wonder where I did come from?"

"How should I know?" Ritsuka wondered. "Wait, what am I doing?" He grabbed the flashlight as he scrambled to get to his feet. "This is…this is insane…there isn't supposed to be anything back here. Soubi told me it was an old escape route that was sealed off. He told me…and he wouldn't lie to me…"

"Apparently he'd lie _with_ you, though. You had ears when you first came here, and I heard you screaming last night…"

Ritsuka paled. "You've been here since last night…?"

Seimei nodded, his neck stiff. "I've been here a lot longer." He stated. "See, I belonged to the last owners of this house. But they left me here all alone."

"You poor thing…"

"Oh, don't worry about me, Ritsuka." Seimei grinned. "After all, they left because I killed them."

Ritsuka couldn't take it anymore. Before Seimei could say or do anything, Ritsuka bolted. He shut and locked the door that was supposed to lead to nothing and ran back to his bedroom. Shutting the door, he locked it and flicked off the light switch, crawling into bed.

"Just a dream…this is all a dream. When I wake up, it will be the same as before. No creepy dolls, no doors that are _supposed_ to lead to nowhere somehow leading mysteriously to somewhere…just me and my big, empty house with barely any furniture and food that you have to heat up." Ritsuka muttered to himself, covering his head with the blankets. "It's just a dream. Just a dream…just a dream…"

About an hour of restless tossing and turning and nagging thoughts later, Ritsuka was finally able to slip into a semi-restless sleep. Back behind the door that leads to nothing, Seimei tapped his fingers on the floor next to him.

"He'll come back…they _always_ come back…"


	4. The Box

Dlbn: Welcome back everyone! I know I was going to wait til Monday, but then I realized just how many more chapters I need to make my deadline, and figured I'd just post a day early and do another chapter on Tuesday instead.

Nbld: So let's not waste any time. Here's the Review Corner! Thank you to Promocat for reviewing! Here's a cookie for you!

Promocat: You can say that again. I wanted to make him as creepy as possible for this fic. Guess I accomplished that goal XD

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Loveless or anyone in it. It all belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off of writing this story.

Disclaimer 2: I do NOT own the song *** by ***, which this fic is based off of. I make NO money out of referencing it.

000

The next morning, Ritsuka was woken up by the sounds of chirping birds and a buzzing social scene from the town below, and sunlight pouring in through the windows. He yawned and stretched, looking around as he scratched where his left neko ear once was. He felt like he got run over by a truck. What was that weird dream about last night? Something about a talking…doll…? Ritsuka laughed out loud and buried his face in his bent knees. There was no such thing as a talking _doll_. It was just a bad dream. Just a nightmare, that's all. It wasn't real. Ritsuka tried to ignore the nagging feeling at the base of his skull that told him otherwise as he got out of bed and got ready for the day. It was his first day on the job and he wanted to look presentable and not be late. Thankfully his job wasn't too far away, and since it was only around seven-thirty AM, that meant he had time to get some breakfast and maybe visit Soubi for a bit before he had to be there. When he passed the mysterious door, he couldn't help but try the knob. It moved a bit but not enough to open the door, and made a sound as if it were locked into place. Ritsuka laughed, running a hand through his hair. Of course it was just a dream. There was no such thing as a talking doll, and Soubi had said that the door led to nowhere. That confirmed that a, Soubi didn't and probably wouldn't lie to him, and b, that he had just let the words of the townspeople about the curse get to him. This was crazy.

"Maybe I'm the one who's lost his mind, instead of mother." Ritsuka laughed. "Yeah, sure, she wasn't crazy, and I'm the Queen of England."

He grabbed a piece of bread from the counter and made toast out of it with the toaster before leaving the house. As he locked the door behind him and started down the hill, the mysterious door clicked and opened. A little plum eye and half of a grin peered through the crack before the door shut once again.

000

Soubi hadn't been at the office yet and was probably still asleep when Ritsuka had gone to see him, so the ravenette settled for browsing the town. He hadn't had a chance to see much of it beyond the few places he'd already been to; the hotel, his new home, Soubi's office, the café, the newspaper building. A simple looking building on the street corner caught his eye. No one seemed to pay it any attention and it seemed rather looked over, so he felt some kind of need to go check it out. the bell on top of the door dinged as he entered.

"Hello, hello, welcome!" A voice he recognized greeted him.

He spotted a crop of pink hair moving on the other side of a couple bookshelves. When the shopkeeper came into view, she frowned.

"Oh, Ritsuka-kun." She greeted him, holding her hands behind her back. "I didn't expect you to come here…"

"Why not?"

"No one ever comes here. No one cares about antiques. Didn't know you liked that…?"

"Actually, it seemed like everyone was just passing by this place." Ritsuka explained. "I thought I'd come check it out since no one else seemed to."

She smiled gently. "I get a few customers here and there, mostly old married couples looking for anniversary gifts for each other, or husbands who just broke family heirlooms and wanted to find a replacement. You know, all those fun little things that happen. Have a look around, make yourself at home. I'll be in the back doing inventory ith Yayoi." She bowed and scrambled off towards the back.

Ritsuka scratched at the back of his neck. Truth be told, antiques weren't something he was interested in, but he'd give Yuiko a hint of business and look around at least. He didn't want her to think that there were any hard feelings about the other day when she and Yayoi had tried to warn him away. He passed over a case of crystal knickknacks and focused his gaze on a nice set of china sitting inside a glass case on the other side. He barely registered the door opening and the bell chiming.

"Ah, Ritsuka!" Nisei's voice greeted. "Long time no see! I hope you're enjoying the new place?"

"Oh, hey, Nisei." Ritsuka replied. "Yeah, it's a nice place."

"Good. Glad to hear the stories haven't scared you away."

"What stories?"

"Oh, you know, the tale of the mysterious stranger and the hanging boy?"

"Huh?"

"No one's told you yet, hm? Well, you'll find out tonight. Kio-san always tells the story from the last float in the parade. You're in for a treat. It's a real spine tingle." He chuckled.

"Nisei?" Yuiko greeted. "What are you doing here? Looking for another gift to charm your ex back into your life?"

Nisei rolled his eyes. "He's not my ex, he's my _friend_ , and yes I am looking. His birthday is next week."

"Like always, give me a holler if you find anything. You too, Ritsuka-kun." She bowed and rushed back to help Yayoi again.

"Dumb girl. Everyone knows his birthday is three days after mine in May…" Nisei muttered.

"So if you're not here for…er…that…what _are_ you here for?"

"I wanted to see you, actually."

"Me?"

Ritsuka was surprised. Why did Nisei want to see him?

"Yes you. Rumor has it you and Agatsuma are a thing now?" He looked up. "Your ears are missing…"

"Why does…why does it matter to you if we are?"

"He may not act like it sometimes, but Agatsuma _is_ my friend."

"Yet you call him by his last name?"

Nisei shrugged. "It's a love-hate relationship." He stated. "He's had a few bad relationships in the past and I'd like it if he wasn't hurt again. Got me?"

"I wouldn't. I really like him, you know…" Ritsuka straightened his back. "And he likes me too, at least I'm hoping he does."

"He does. That's why I'm making sure you feel the same." Nisei smiled. "Now here, it's dangerous to go alone. Take this." He pulled a box out from behind his back and handed it to Ritsuka.

"Dangerous to go where?"

"I just always wanted to say that." Nisei shrugged. "I used to be a big gamer before I moved here. no one here knows what the hell a television is, let alone a PS5 and wifi." He muttered.

Ritsuka took the box. "Um…thanks…? But why?"

"A welcome to town present." Nisei grinned. "On behalf of myself and the inn." He bowed, careful not to knock over some old porcelain dolls on a shelf near him.

"Thank you, I appreciate it."

Nisei grinned. "Well, I best be going." He stated. "I'll see you at the parade tonight, Mr. Photographer." He winked before exiting the shop, the bell dinging.

Yuiko didn't come out from the back as Nisei left. Ritsuka opened the rather ornate box. Inside was a rather worn out silver key. He took it out and turned it over in his fingers. It must have been to lock the box up with, and Nisei had just put it inside so he wouldn't lose it on the way over. But how had he known Ritsuka would be there? He was probably out looking for him and happened to spot him in a mostly vacant spot of the town. Ritsuka turned the key over and noticed something carved into it, and painted over with rusting silver paint. He spotted 'Ritsuka' carved into the key.

"Hey, Ritsuka-kun. What do you have there?" Yuiko wondered, coming out from the back.

"It's something Nisei gave me to welcome me to town." He answered.

"Aw, how uncharacteristically sweet of him; that big old softie. Let me see it."

Ritsuka handed her the box.

"This has to be as old as the town itself!" She exclaimed. "An artifact, maybe? Nisei must have had it for a long time." She gasped. "A family heirloom? But why would he just give it away like that? Oh well, it's gorgeous. Normally I'd offer you money for this on the spot, but with Nisei doing something _nice_ for someone, a complete stranger no less, I couldn't possibly ask you to give it up for anything."

"It comes with a key, too." Ritsuka added, showing her the key.

"Well…this is odd…"

"What is it?"

"It looks like this key is the same age as the box, but your name is carved in it."

"So? Nisei probably did it himself."

"I don't think so, Ritsuka." She paled. "Yayoi! Come out here!"

Her bespectacled boyfriend, or whatever he was, came out of the back room; cleaning his glasses on his shirt.

"What is it?" He wondered. "Oh…Ritsuka."

"Hi." Ritsuka greeted.

"What's going on, Yuiko? You called me out here just to see him? I knew he was here."

"No!" She laughed. "Here, check out what Akame gave Ritsuka-kun." She handed him the box, but not the key.

"Oh, nice. Very sixteenth century." He nodded, adjusting his glasses. "It looks like it was made around the same time this town was built. Probably one of the first things ever made here."

"Yeah, it's wonderful, isn't it?"

"Why did he give you this?" Yayoi asked. "He isn't the gift-giving kind to anyone but his ex."

"He insists they're just friends." Yuiko stated.

"Yeah, Akame's ears just fell off on their own while he was sleeping. Such a tragic story." Yayoi rolled his eyes.

Both of them laughed, and even Ritsuka smiled. There was a bit of a twinkle in Nisei's eye when Yuiko mentioned his alleged ex that gave away a hint at his true feelings for him. Mimuro was the name he had muttered, right?

"He heard about Soubi and I and wanted to make sure I wouldn't hurt him. They're…sort of friends, I guess…?"

"That's what Akame says, but rumor has it that they used to be together before they each moved here. Soubi came here second, I think. Joke was that he had followed Nisei in hopes of continuing their relationship, but Akame was with Mimuro-san and that idea flew out the window." Yayoi went on. "In all honesty, Soubi was a bit out of it and pretty mopey until you came around. He's not normally so open and friendly. Sure, he's not a cold hearted puppy kicker or anything like that, but he's not a socialite either. He hardly ever comes out to the parade, even though Kio's always the storyteller every year."

"Maybe he's just sick of hearing the story…?"

"No one's sick of that." Yuiko shook her head. "It still scares me like it did when I was little, but I've got Yayoi to protect me now!"

The flush on his face made Ritsuka think that maybe he'd been around to protect her before and she had only just recently noticed him.

"Yes, well…" He handed the box back to Ritsuka. "It's really rather lovely. I'd make you an offer, but a gift from Akame is rare, so I won't bother you with it."

"That's what I said. " Yuiko agreed. "Here, this is what I really wanted you to see." She handed him the key.

"The box key? What's so fascinating about that?"

"Turn if over and look at the shaft."

Yayoi did and his eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"What is it?" Ritsuka asked.

"Hold on." Yayoi ran off and came back with some magnifying device attached to his glasses. "Impossible!"

"What is it?" Ritsuka wondered, leaning closer to get a better look.

"The carving in this key isn't recent." Yayoi shook his head. "Judging from the tool marks around it, it was made using an old welding device from the mid 1800's."

"So?" Ritsuka wondered. "Maybe Akame had access to one and carved it."

"No, the carving is set in too deep. There's _centuries_ of wear and tear on this key, including this spot. If it was more recent, it would have had to been smoothed over first, and it hasn't been."

"So you're saying that Akame gave me a box from the sixteenth century that contained a key that had _my name_ carved into it during the 1880's…? Is that what you're telling me? Come on, you guys are pulling my leg. This is another one of those town legend kind of things isn't it?" Ritsuka wondered.

"I wish I was kidding, Ritsuka." Yayoi shook his head, smiling gently as he removed the magnifying device. "It probably one belonged to someone named Ritsuka and he saw it and thought it was fitting that you have it. That's really all."

"That sounds more logical." Ritsuka nodded. "Thanks." He took the key back. "I better go see if Soubi's at work yet. I was hoping to spend some of the day together."

"Sounds like a plan. We have a lot of work to do." Yayoi stated. "Changing the displays in the window, inventory, cleaning. Gonna be an all day project."

"Just don't miss the parade."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world!" Yuiko giggled.

Ritsuka thanked the young couple and left. Once he was gone, they shared a worried look.

"Yayoi…you don't think that Akame just _happened_ to have a box with a key that has Ritsuka's name on it…do you…?" She asked.

"I really wish that was what I thought." Yayoi said. "I really wish it was."


	5. The Parade

Dlbn: Hey everyone, I'm back with a new chapter as promised! Gonna have to do a couple more updates a week to meet up with my deadline. I don't want this fic to ramble on into nothingness, so I won't make it overly long.

Nbld: Like your author notes. Review Corner! Thank you to Promocat for reviewing! Halloween ice cream for you!

Promocat: Thanks! Making things creepy is Seimei and Nisei's job ;)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Loveless or anyone in it. It all belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off of writing this story.

Disclaimer 2: I do NOT own the song *** by ***, which this fic is based off of. I make NO money out of referencing it.

000

Ritsuka's assignment to get photographs of the local parade was rather simple. He was to work with a young reporter named Osamu and a guy that was apparently paid to take notes on her interviews for her. She had rushed off with the writer to interview some people who were practicing for the parade, leaving Ritsuka alone near the floats. He focused his camera and snapped photograph after photograph of the floats. There were only four of them, but they were rather large. Flowers decorated one while another was painted in bold, bright colors. He vaguely recognized the young green haired male painting away at the base of the brightly colored float, apparently making last minute corrections to fix errors in the paint. He was muttering something to himself as he adjusted the Bluetooth-like headset in his left ear before going back to painting. If Ritsuka could remember right, he was Kio; Soubi's roommate that owned the laundry mat. He didn't know that the other male painted as well, but Soubi _had_ said that they had both gone to art school. Why Soubi had decided to become a real estate agent was beyond him.

Ritsuka snapped a picture of Kio, slightly startling the artist as he was painting. Kio turned to yell at whoever had taken the photograph, but he smiled when he saw who it was.

"Well, look who it is!" He greeted, wiping his hands on his paint-stained jeans and standing. "First day on the job, right? Sou-chan told me."

"Yeah, the editor wanted me to cover the parade with Osamu but…uh…she ditched me to do interviews."

"She's always running around this way and that trying to get the perfect story." Kio chuckled. "It's admirable that someone that young has such drive and passion. From what she said, she's a photographer as well but couldn't find any money in it and became a journalist instead. Talk about opposites, right?"

"You mean like an artist that owns a laundry mat, and an artist that sells real estate?"

Kio laughed. "Yeah, opposites attract, I suppose. Didn't think that applied to careers, but eh, what do I know, right?"

"Yeah, I don't know much either."

Kio was about to say something when a young brunette rushed over.

"Kio, float four has some major paint damage to the hull." She told the artist, giving Ritsuka a gentle smile as she spoke. "Can you fix it? We got ten minutes."

"Can I _fix_ it?" Kio put his left hand holding his paintbrush on his hip, paintbrush pointing upwards to the sky. "Just even _thinking_ of me asking such a question offends me." He laughed. "I'm on it like brown on rice. Rit-chan, I'll talk to you later!" He grabbed up all his supplies and rushed off to work on the other float.

"Rit-chan?" The girl wondered. "Oh, you must be Soubi's boyfriend he told me about. Ritsuka, right? Ignore Kio. His weird nicknames are a character trait, I think."

"Yeah, it's Ritsuka. Soubi warned me ahead of time before I met Kio. It doesn't really bother me."

"Oh phew. I know Soubi _hated_ it when they first met. He didn't like Kio in the slightest. And now they're best friends and live together? Crazy how things change, hm?"

"Changes can happen in an instant. Something or someone snaps and suddenly everything is different."

He knew that first hand better than anyone did or could hope to.

"You got that right." The girl started to speak again, but Kio interrupted her.

"Hanabi! I need my red paint! I left it over there!" He shouted, waving enthusiastically at her.

"Got it!" She looked from Kio to Ritsuka. "I'd better go. Nice to meet you. Name's Hanabi. Welcome to town."

"Arigato." Ritsuka bowed.

Hanabi scooped up the paint as she ran past it to help Kio.

"Hey, I was wondering where you got off to!" Osamu greeted him, appearing behind Ritsuka soundlessly. "Come get a photo of the dancers, would you? They're going to pose for you."

"Sure thing." Ritsuka nodded.

Shots of people were more his thing then festive floats. Osamu ran off and Ritsuka had to jog to keep up with her so they wouldn't separate in the crowd. The skirting of the float Ritsuka had bene working on lifted a little and a face with purple eyes peered out from underneath it. The left eye blinked and the mouth grew to fit the entire face, almost pulling it apart as it watched Ritsuka and Osamu run off. A young woman came closer to the float and the figure disappeared underneath it. The skirting stilled long before the woman arrived on that side, having had circled around to inspect it.

"Alright, everyone!" Hitomi called, clapping her hands once. "Now that repairs have bene made by the artists and engineers, let's get this show on the road!"

000

It was about twenty minutes and a good hundred photographs by Ritsuka into the parade when the camera wearing neko spotted the strangeness on the fourth float that he hadn't noticed when he first looked over at it. It was painted in bright colors of the skirting and base, but the top of it had a brown Paper Mache tree with bright leaves painted in orange, red, and yellow like fall leaves, which was leaning over a cobblestone well. Hanging from the tree was a noose and in it was a hunched over figure of a young boy with black hair and ears. The town had become hushed at the sight of the float. It stopped in the middle of the town square, near the fountain. Kio climbed on top of it, wearing a headpiece with a microphone. He tapped it once, making it screech. Speakers were on either side of the well so whatever he was about to say could be heard from all over the square.

"Greetings, everyone, and welcome to the sixtieth annual Founder's Day parade!" He greeted the crowd, who clapped in response. "Thank you, thank you! Most of you know me as Kio from the laundry mat, but I am also Kio, the one hired to fix the screw ups in the paint jobs of floats I didn't make for no money whatsoever. Now you know where the whole 'starving artist' stereotype comes from."

Ritsuka spotted Soubi on the other side of the square, shaking his head at the greenette's lame joke. He snuck a quick photo of the irritated real estate agent.

"But enough jokes." He went on. "As you know, we have a newcomer in our town now." He gestured out to Ritsuka. "Come on, take a bow, Ritsuka!"

The former neko blushed and waved to the crowd a little before Kio took the attention back on him.

"And what a way to greet our newcomer and introduce him to the town and its heritage like an origin story? So gather round and learn the history of the haunted house on the hill." He used his whole hand to point up to Ritsuka's house as a large spotlight was directed that way. "It was a crisp fall evening much like tonight." Kio began, his voice taking on an eerie edge to it. "There was a chill in the air that this budding town had never seen. The young family living in that very home had a son, about three years of age at the time. Rumor had it that a newcomer had come to town via train, much like our dear old Ritsuka had a few days ago. The innkeeper recalled a young man checking into the inn." Kio gestured to the inn Ritsuka had stayed in, where Nisei was standing, smirking. "But when he went to find him the next morning, he wasn't there. It was as if no one had checked in. Even his signature page in the ledger was missing. Not ripped out, but just…plain…gone!"

Thunder clapped as if to accentuate his point, but the sound was artificial and had come from the float's speakers. Ritsuka noticed Nisei gripping something in his hand, thumb circling a button on top. He must have been in charge of the audio.

"A few days passed since the stranger came to town and mysteriously vanished." Kio went on. "The family from the house on the hill hadn't come down in days. There was no sign of them, but talks of illness and quarantine had made their way throughout the town. After a week and a half, a group of the townsmen went up the hill to check on the family. It looked as if they hadn't ever been there, although everyone _knew_ they lived there and had for generations. The men searched inside the house high and low, hoping to find some trace of the family, but there simply was none. Word spread quickly from the men to the town. People were starting to get scared. What had happened? Had the stranger gotten to them? They all just suddenly vanished within the same time span of a few days, maybe even a few hours. It just _had_ to be connected…right…?"

He received some sounds of acknowledgement from the crowd. Ritsuka spotted Yuiko and Yayoi huddled together under a heavy blanket on one side of the float. She looked terrified. Either Kio was a great storyteller, or she really believed in the urban legend spewing from his lips. Since he personally thought Kio was so-so of an actor and storyteller and should probably stick to art and laundry, it was more likely the latter.

"A bigger group of men went up to the house the next day, accompanied by the local shaman and a few of the townswomen." Kio prattled on, catching Ritsuka's attention. "They searched the house and the grounds high and low…until…from outside the house, in the back yard, they heard a woman scream! The team raced out as quickly as they could. A young woman was standing near the well with one hand over her mouth, and the other shaking as it pointed to the tree near the well. It was then that they saw it! Shouts of surprise and terror amongst whispered words of shock and awe filled the sky as all eyes shifted to the tree. There, the three year old son of the young couple who owned the house was hanging by his neck from a tree!" Kio kicked a spotlight to aim at the tree with the figure in it.

A few young girls squealed in surprise and horror, and Ritsuka caught Yuiko burying her face into Yayoi's shoulder and her head underneath the blanket as if his shoulder and the fabric would be enough to save her.

"The boy had no signs of life, his eyes permanently opened and mouth wide in horror." Kio continued on. "A young man looked down into the well, hearing something coming from inside. When he banged on the side of the well, a large bird shot out towards the sky and disappeared into the crowds, dragging what looked like intestines out with it."

As if cued, which it probably was, long ropes painted a brownish red and dripped reddish-brown paint fell from a trap door in the false clock tower on the third float. People closest to the float scrambled to get away as the wet ropes made sickening splats against the ground.

"The man cried out, calling attention to the well. Inside, were the corpses of the boy's parents. Lying lifelessly in the bottom of the well; drenched in water, coated in blood, and eyes and mouth wide open like the young boy's." Kio chuckled. "They all came to their senses and scrambled to get the boy out of the tree and the parents out of the well. Before the coroner could go to cut the rope off of the boy's neck, the boy's head shot up and he began laughing! Everyone froze. The boy was dead! Corpses didn't start lifting their heads and laughing. There was no way! The shaman looked into the boy's eyes and found a dead doll-like gaze that terrified him. He cried out about evil and began spewing a curse as he pulled a charm out from his robes. He rubbed it with his fingers as he chanted. The boy began screaming in pain. It wasn't the shout of a confused, frightened young boy who had been almost murdered, but rather the demonic scream of a creature the likes of which this town has never seen." He brushed his flashlight over the crowd, seeming to delight in the horrified looks he saw on the faces of some of the townspeople. "The deafening sound grew louder and louder and then…it stopped. The boy fell to his side, dead and not breathing. The shaman warned that the boy had to be buried seven feet deep on consecrated ground or the townspeople would face dire consequences. The mayor took the words of the old shaman to be foolish. Surely a deceased young child couldn't cause any damage or trouble around town. The boy was buried in the town cemetery a few miles that way," Kio pointed his flashlight in the direction of the cemetery. "Five feet deep was the furthest they dug in that time, and so that was how he was buried. The shaman warned the mayor. 'Your pride will be the death of us all!' the shaman had warned. 'You did not heed my word, and now this town shall suffer at _your_ hands!' He placed a curse upon the town as his eyes slid shut and he drifted off into an endless lumber, slumped against the gravestone of the young child that had frightened him so much."

No wonder Yuiko and Yayoi thought the house was haunted. With all this nonsense going on and being told to the town's children, he probably would have believed it too if he had grown up her with the stories and legends. A chill was creeping up his spine for a reason he wasn't sure he quiet understood.

"Of course, the townspeople did not heed his warning. They buried the parents with the boy and put the home up for sale." Kio continued towards the ending of the story. "It wasn't long before an out of town couple purchased the home and moved in. After a few days they began speaking nonsense. The wife would babble incoherent words as if her mind had been stolen from her. The husband wandered around town screaming 'the child lives! The child lives! He is coming for you!' Eventually they were rounded up and brought to a mental health facility a few towns over. Once they were sent away, with the wife babbling incoherently and the husband warning everyone of a cursed child who had come for revenge, the house was thoroughly searched to remove all of their belongings so the house could be fixed up for resale. Inside the home, there were journal writings discovered that detailed how a child who resided in the house when they purchased it, had suddenly come into their lives, claiming he was afraid to come out sooner and didn't want the townspeople to know or they'd kill him…again. Further searches of the home by the town sheriff led to no finding of a child like the couple had proclaimed. There was a room at the top of the staircase that was the last to be searched. When the sheriff opened the door, he let out a strangled cry and shut the door. When he turned around, his left eye was missing. He collapsed! The search party was sent running! The house was condemned, the mysterious room sealed shut by the new shaman that had come to the town after the previous one died at the cemetery." Kio held the flashlight up to his face, sending shadows over his features. "It wasn't until a few years ago that the house was reopened for resale. There had been no mysterious happenings since the door was sealed, and no one expected anything to happen. One by one, people began to more into the house and make it their own. They slowly grew insane and killed themselves in mysterious ways. The only commonality between the deaths were writings of a mysterious child the first disturbed couple had made mention of in their journals. No one from town has ever _seen_ the child, and nothing happens when the house is uninhabited. But every few years, the house is put up for sale once again, and the new owner is warned against living there. 'It's haunted', the people will warn. 'The hell house,' they'll claim, 'no one has ever made it out of there alive, and the ones that did were driven mad! Stay away! For your own good and ours, stay _away_!'" Kio shouted the last word.

A hush fell over the town. A strange child appearing in the house? People going insane and committing mysterious suicides, or going missing entirely? This was insanity. The child…the doll…could that…could that be connected? No way! The doll was a dream! A nightmare! A figment of Ritsuka's wild imagination! There were no such things as curses or demonic possessions!

"But no one listens. It's always the same thing; a new owner, a new death or disappearance, another new owner. People wonder why the house still goes up for sale every year, yet no one ever stops it." Kio continued. "So beware, Ritsuka!"

The spotlight fell on the bewildered photographer when Kio called his name.

"The Hell House will slowly take you, slowly drive you into madness until leaving or death are your _only options_. Beware the Hell House. And beware…of the child…called…Seimei…"

The streetlights went out as Kio laughed a maniacal sound and people all around the square screamed. When the lights came back on, the doll in the tree had its face up so people could see. Ritsuka spotted one open plum eye and another shut one, and a large grin that stretched the doll's face. He resisted the urge to scream as the float was driven away, mysterious sounds and a screaming track coming from the speakers as Kio laughed himself into a coughing fit. The townspeople cried out in rancorous glee; cheers, laughter, and clapping coming from every individual. Even Ritsuka found himself clapping. It started off rather…boring…but Kio was _quite_ the showman. Maybe he missed his calling when he went into artistry and laundry and was meant to be an actor instead.

"You looked terrified." Soubi's voice spoke from behind him, making Ritsuka jump.

From the former neko's side, Osamu laughed. "Hey, Soubi, Kio poses a good point. If that old Hell House is such a…well…hell house…why do you keep selling it…?"

"Something needs to pay my bills and put food on my table." Soubi deadpanned.

Osamu laughed, making even Ritsuka smile at the blonde.

"Very funny." He stated.

Soubi pecked him on the lips. "I'm glad you agree."

"I'm going to go interview Kio." Osamu stated. "That story gets better and better every year." She and the writer chased after the showman, leaving Ritsuka and Soubi alone.

"Hey, Soubi? There's no… _truth_ …to that story…is there…?" Ritsuka wondered.

"Of course not, it's an urban legend." He laughed. "Why?"

"Well…something happened last night…I'm fairly certain it was just a dream, but…"

"Tell me." Soubi coaxed, running his thumb pad over Ritsuka's cheek.

Ritsuka sighed and told his story of the doll.

"That just sounds like a bad dream, Ritsuka. You'll forget about it eventually."

"Soubi, Kio said that the child was named _Seimei_ and that doll in the tree had the same plum eyes and creepy grin that the doll I saw had. How could I have known the name? How could I have imagined the boy? I never lived here in my life, and no one told me the legend."

Soubi shrugged. "Maybe you heard some people around town talking, or heard Kio rehearsing the other day." He stated. "I wouldn't worry too much about it. It's just superstitions. There is no curse, there's no dead, evil child, and there's certainly no living, breathing _doll_ living behind the door that leads to nowhere in your house. Don't worry about it, alright? It isn't real."

Ritsuka hugged himself, shivering against the cold. "I sure hope so, Soubi, I do…"

The blonde led him away from the town square, going on about a Founder's Day celebration at the café where they met. He spared a glance over his shoulder at Nisei, who was sitting on the fountain, tossing the remote for the float's sound effects between his hands. He stopped when he noticed Soubi staring and gave a sarcastic wave. Soubi warned him with a glare and turned around so he wouldn't lead Ritsuka into a person or a building or something like that. Nisei just kept smirking.


	6. The Snack

Dlbn: We're back with another chapter! Time to pick things up a bit. I'll try and post again tomorrow and once over the weekend, but no promises. I'm almost done actually writing the fic in its entirety. Yay me!

Nbld: Shut up. Time for the Review Corner! Thank you to Promocat for reviewing! Pumpkin for you!

Promocat: Unfortunately the song this is influenced by gives away the ending, so I haven't mentioned it by name or artist yet, and won't until the last chapter or so. Onward ho!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Loveless or anyone in it. It all belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off of writing this story.

Disclaimer 2: I do NOT own the song *** by ***, which this fic is based off of. I make NO money out of referencing it.

000

It was a little after midnight when Ritsuka finally returned home from the celebration. He was going to spend the night at Soubi's, but a late night call from his new boss saying that his photos were due at six in the morning had him thinking otherwise. The blonde would have kept him up all night and they probably would have overslept. Being late to his second day on the job wasn't the kind of thing he wanted to do, even if neither of them lived very far from the newspaper building. He shut the door behind him and locked it with a satisfying click. He sighed and ditched his coat and camera on the coat rack near the door before heading into the kitchen. When he turned on the light, he shrieked and jumped back a few inches. Sitting in one of the chairs at the kitchen table was the doll from the other night. It was continuously staring at him with his one stuck open eye while the other blinked a few times.

"You're coming home late." Seimei greeted him. "Welcome home, Ritsuka."

"T-Thanks…" Ritsuka said, slowly letting go of where he was gripping his shirt off of his chest. "It's…uh…it's Founders Day. I was out celebrating."

"With that guy that was here a few days ago, I think?" Seimei wondered, shaking his head with the creak of stuck doll joints. "I didn't really appreciate hearing those noises coming from your room. Rather disgusting."

"Sorry, but it's my house now, and if I want to have a guy here overnight and sleep with him, I'm going to do it. With or without your permission." Ritsuka huffed. "If you don't like it, that isn't my problem. You don't pay for this place. I do."

The doll slowly shook his head again. "That's not very nice."

"Neither is scaring the hell out of me, but you've done that twice already." Ritsuka pointed out.

The doll seemed to focus on the box in Ritsuka's arm.

"What's that?" Seimei wondered. "Looks old."

"It's a wooden box." Ritsuka informed.

"Where did it come from?"

"A friend of mine in town gave it to me."

"A friend?" The doll chuckled. "But, you hardly know Akame-san."

"Well, yeah, I know, but…you know who I got it from…? But…how?"

The doll smiled. "I was in town, you see." He stated. "I saw him carrying something, but wasn't certain what. Now I know."

"You…you were there…?" Ritsuka paled. "But…how…?"

"How else? I walked." Seimei grinned.

Ritsuka shook his head. "Now you're just messing with my head." He stated. "Someone would have seen you."

"I'm a master of camouflage." The doll bragged.

"Sure you are." Ritsuka rolled his eyes.

He passed the doll to see if he could find something in the cabinets to nibble on. Soubi had fed him earlier, and he'd gotten some snacks at the Founder's Day party at the café, but he was still a little hungry.

"What are you doing?" The doll asked, turning in its chair without moving its limbs.

Ritsuka watched as the doll slowly rotated as if it were being turned by an invisible hand.

"I'm hungry so I'm going to have a snack." He spread some peanut butter on a cracker.

"Oh." Seimei stated. "I'd like a snack. It's been so long since I've eaten."

Ritsuka didn't like the gleam in the doll's eye. "You're a doll…you don't eat…do you…?"

"Maybe." Seimei turned his head to the side with a creak. "You tell me. You're smart enough to figure it out."

"If you do eat, I doubt it's food…but I'll make you a snack."

"Thank you. That is most kind of you."

Ritsuka nodded and made a peanut butter and cracker sandwich for the doll. "Do I just….uh…do I hand it to you or…?"

"I'll take it." The doll stuck out a straight arm.

Ritsuka placed the cracker in the doll's hand. The doll bent its harm and popped the cracker into its mouth. Ritsuka watched him chew and swallow, grimacing when his long tongue licked at his lips.

"That sure hit the spot." Seimei nodded. "Why thank you, Ritsuka."

"You're welcome." Ritsuka finished the cracker in his hand and put the plate in front of the doll. "I've lost my appetite. Enjoy."

The doll watched Ritsuka as he exited the room, running a hand through his raven black hair.

"Thank you. Good night."

"Good night."

The doll robotically grabbed another cracker sandwich from the plate and nibbled on it. Ritsuka made his way upstairs, ignoring the sounds coming from the doll downstairs. How had a _doll_ managed to eat a cracker sandwich? And on top of that, how had he stretched his mouth that wide? It looked like if he had wanted to, he could have chewed Ritsuka to bits with those teeth, or worse; swallowed Ritsuka whole. The former neko shuddered at the thought as he passed the door that supposedly led to nowhere. It clearly led to somewhere, and that somewhere housed a terrifying living doll. Had Soubi known about this? If he had, then that meant he had lied to Ritsuka. But…Soubi loved him…right…? He said he did…so certainly he wouldn't lie to him. Maybe he hadn't known. That would have explained it. If the information had been passed onto him that it led to nowhere, who was the realtor to question it? clearly, a bad realtor, but Ritsuka couldn't blame him for relying on information he was given, even if it was false.

Ritsuka tried the door knob but found that it didn't move.

"The doll…" Ritsuka pondered. "Oh, that must have all been in my head. I'll go down in the morning and see the plate full of crackers. I must have hallucinated." He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck as he moved on towards his bedroom. "It has to be that story Kio told today. I let it get to my head. So strange. I'm not normally superstitious." He laughed.

Downstairs, the crumb covered empty plate sat on the kitchen table while the chair in the kitchen lay on its side on the floor. The doll was nowhere to be found.

000

The next morning, Ritsuka yawned as he walked down the last of his steps into his house's foyer. It was five in the morning, meaning he had about forty-five minutes before he had to leave for work. While the photos were due at six in the morning, that was just because he had a debriefing and had a time slot open for him to use the local photo shop's dark room to develop the photographs around seven that morning. He had a vague idea of where it was, but he hoped to get better directions from his boss this morning. Entering the kitchen, Ritsuka had a vague recollection of the night before. Something about the doll eating and its terrifying mouth opening to the point where Ritsuka thought its hinges might snap? He shook off the confusing memories as he noted the plate with some crackers stuck together with peanut butter sitting on the table. He laughed to himself, shaking his head at his stupidity. Of course there was no doll there. It was all in his head. But he saw the doll before the parade…so how did he know what the doll looked like _and_ its name before Kio told the story at the parade? Maybe he'd heard the name somewhere before? That made sense. And now that he thought about it, he had black hair just like the doll. Maybe they had modeled it after Ritsuka, knowing he had bought the house? That was the only way any of this made sense. Ritsuka tried to shrug off the feeling of being watched as he sat down to eat his now stale snack from the night before. There was no one else here…right…?


	7. The Photographs

Dlbn: I finished writing this in its entirety today! Yay!

Nbld: This is the first time we've had a fic FINISHED way before we were close to finishing posting updates.

Dlbn: I know right? Starting today, I'll have to update at least once, or twice (maybe even three times) a day to make sure I post everything. So if you're following, be aware of a ton of updates! If you get a lot of email notifications, you're not seeing mistakes; they're actually being posted that quickly. Gotta make the Halloween deadline. I'll post the epilogue Halloween night, so the goal is to have the ending posted before I go to work Saturday. I don't get Halloween off :( but gotta make that green, right?

Nbld: alright, no more nonsense babbling. Let's move onto the Review Corner! Thank you to promocat, Maki-Sensitivity, and Bloody Carnage Princess for reviewing! Pumpkins for you all!

Promocat: Got that right! Sometimes it's best to not understand Seimei and his reasons for why he does what he does.

Maki-Sensitivity: I'd like to have a Seimei doll, but not a creepy one like this Seimei is. He's a bit of a tragic character, as you'll see as we progress. A little squeeze won't hurt ;)

Bloody Carnage Princess: Thank you!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Loveless or anyone in it. It all belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off of writing this story.

Disclaimer 2: I do NOT own the song *** by ***, which this fic is based off of. I make NO money out of referencing it.

000

It hadn't been hard to find the photography shop after his debriefing that morning. Ritsuka sighed as he dipped his first photograph into the developing ink. He yawned as he watched the first picture of the float come to life. He set it down on special paper to dry completely before dipping the next one. This time, as he watched, he noticed something odd appearing behind the town square fountain. When the photo finished developing, he pulled it out and took a close look at it. There was someone peering out from the side of the fountain's spout. He shrugged and put it down to dry before moving on. The next photograph was of Kio working on the float. It looked like the float's skirt was lifted up a bit on the side opposite of Kio. Ritsuka developed it and took a closer look. He could see a face peering out from under the float. It had one open purple eye and another one that looked like it was in the middle of blinking. Ritsuka almost dropped the photograph back into the ink out of shock. There was only one thing in the world that had purple eyes and could only blink one of them; Seimei! Ritsuka set the photo down and began developing the next one. This was another view of the square directly. He noticed Yuiko and Yayoi sitting on a bench looking at a book together, and could see Nisei playing with the sound effect remote, but his face wasn't focused on the remote. It was more focused on the fountain. Ritsuka looked closer and spotted Seimei, in the same clothing he was always wearing, standing on the other side of the fountain. His eyes were trained on Nisei and his mouth was twisted into that demented grin again. Was there a connection between the two of them? Or had Nisei sensed something evil? Ritsuka continued developing photo after photo until they were all done. There was a shot of Kio on the float with the microphone, and the doll's face peering around the tree. There was one of the five floats from the parade. Hitomi was talking with Hanabi and Kio on one side, and peering out from behind Hanabi's legs was the doll. The mayor was in one of them, speaking into the microphone. Standing in the crowd right in front of him was the doll, his head turned backwards on his body to look at Ritsuka with that creepy grin and one wide eye. Every photograph he went through, the doll was there. He either caught a glimpse of an eye or his clothing, and there were only about a dozen that had the doll's full body in them. A photograph of Soubi and Nisei talking about something was particularly interesting. Ritsuka didn't remember snapping that one and he definitely would have noticed the little doll sitting on Soubi's left shoulder. Seimei had something to do with the two of them; Ritsuka was certain of it. It would explain why Nisei was so worried about Ritsuka breaking Soubi's heart. He doubted they were former lovers like Yuiko and Yayoi had said the rumor around town was, but they defiantly had a relationship other then just being townspeople and happening to know one another. Soubi hadn't grown up in this town, he had told Ritsuka, so it was possible that he met Nisei by staying at the Inn his first night there and they'd become friends somehow. Though from the photo, it looked like Soubi and Nisei weren't really happy with each other.

Once the photographs were dry, Ritsuka collected them and exited the shop.

"Thank you." He told Yamato, one of the photo shop owners, on his way out.

"Any time, Ritsuka-kun." She grinned. "I doubt you have a dark room in your house."

"I was hoping to one day get the materials for one, actually. There's an unused closet on the first floors with now windows that would make a good dark room." He tucked some stray black hair behind his ear.

"Best of luck." Yamato nodded. "I don't sell the materials here, but the next town over does."

Ritsuka frowned. "That's about four hundred miles away…"

There were only five stops on his way from Tokyo to this town, and the fourth stop was the last town, which was marked at a three hundred and two mile distance between that stop and this town. He hadn't seen any other towns or villages on his way from the fourth stop to the final one. They were highly isolated out here, which explained the sort of old-school, otherworldly feel that overtook the town sometimes. If it wasn't for Soubi, Ritsuka wasn't a hundred percent certain he would have stayed here in the first place. Isolation was nice, but he'd spent his whole life being alone. He didn't want to go on that way until he died. Or the doll killed him. Whichever came first.

"Yeah, it's a drag." Yamato nodded. "They'll mail stuff here, though. That's now the art shop got some of its high end paints."

Hanabi owned the art supply shop and gallery on the other side of the small town. Soubi had mentioned it, but he hadn't been there gone yet.

"At least they ship." Ritsuka muttered.

Thoughts about the strange doll Seimei and the disturbing photographs crossed Ritsuka's mind and he smiled again.

"I'd best be on my way. These photos won't deliver themselves." He stated, grinning. "Arigato."

"Domashimashite, Ritsuka-kun," Yamato bowed.

Ritsuka bowed back before turning to leave. In his haste, he'd almost run into Koya, Yamato's partner that shared ownership of the photography shop and owned the entirety of a bookstore next store.

"Oh, sorry, Koya!"

"It's quite alright." The bookish young woman replied in her quiet voice, adjusting her glasses. "I should have announced my presence."

She held the door open for him.

"And I shouldn't be rushing around in a store, let alone near the door." Ritsuka replied. "Gomennasai, again!"

"It's alright!" Koya quietly called after him as he rushed out.

Ritsuka swerved around horse and carriages and people walking through the town square as he made his way to the realty office. Soubi owned him one _hell_ of an explanation!

000

Ritsuka burst in through the door to Soubi's office, panting as the door slammed against the wall behind it. In an instant Soubi was on his feet and at the younger male's side.

"Ritsuka, are you okay?" Soubi wondered, gently gripping Ritsuka's face and tilting it up to look at him.

"No, I'm not!" Ritsuka snapped, voice urgent.

Ritsuka pulled the door shut behind him and marched his way over to a table in the corner that contained nothing but a box of tissues, a lamp, and a potted fern. He slammed the photos down on the table and spread them out.

"How do you explain this?" Ritsuka wondered.

Soubi walked over, a look of curiosity across his features.

"Explain what?" Soubi asked. "Your photographs? They came out lovely."

"Thank you, but that isn't the point." Ritsuka shook his head.

"I don't see what the issue is, Ritsuka. Do you not like how they came out? They look perfect to me, but I'm not the photographer. I know some of my paintings that I hate Kio absolutely adores. We artists _are_ our harshest critics, after all, and…"

"Don't you see it?" Ritsuka snapped, pointing to the photo where Seimei was on Nisei's shoulder.

"See what?" Soubi looked closely and frowned. "Ritsuka, Nisei and I are only friends. I know the rumor around town, but…"

Ritsuka let out a dry laugh. "You think that's what's bothering me? I'm not that insecure, Soubi." He shook his head. "Nisei's shoulder. What's on it?"

"Clothing…?" Soubi wondered. "Ritsuka, I don't see your point…"

"You don't see the…huh…?"

Ritsuka was taken aback at what he saw. Seimei wasn't in the photograph anymore!

"But…how…?" He quickly brushed through the others, remembering exactly where the doll had been in every photograph. "He…he was there! I swear he was!"

"Who was?" Soubi wondered, forehead crinkling in confusion.

"The doll!" Ritsuka stated. "That damn creepy doll I found in that room that you said led nowhere!"

"The doll from your dream? Ritsuka…" Soubi chuckled, sounding relieved. "I think you might have let the story last night go to your head. There's no living doll in your house. That door doesn't go to anywhere anymore. The doll isn't in these photographs because it doesn't _exist_." Soubi gently wrapped his arms around the younger male. "It's all in your head." Soubi kissed the top of his head. "The door goes nowhere, and there's no doll. I _promise_ you. It was all just an urban legend."

"The story Kio told? But…"

"We tell that story every year to prevent town's children from going up and playing in the abandoned house. Well, _formerly_ abandoned house. If we didn't say it was cursed even after you moved in, the kids might catch on." Soubi let out a deep, exhausted breath. "I promise you, there is nothing wrong. Your house isn't haunted, there's no room behind the door, and there's _definitely_ no living doll."

"But that name…I knew it before Kio said it. I heard that name in my dream. How do you explain _that_!?"

"Did you perhaps hear that name somewhere before?"

"No…I don't think so…"

"Think hard. Are you _sure_ you didn't hear it before…?"

"No, I'm _certain_ I've never heard it before. It's not exactly a common name."

"Neither is Ritsuka or Soubi. But these things have a way of getting around in circulation after a few years. I wouldn't worry too much about it, alright? Maybe you need a little more rest. Why don't you meet me here after work, and I'll take you home, cook you a nice meal, and you can go to bed early and get some rest? I won't keep you up late like I normally do. A lack of sleep and proper nutrition can cause hallucinations. What did you eat for breakfast?"

"Crackers with peanut butter. I made them last night but…the doll…and I lost my appetite so I gave the plate to the doll and…and it was still there in the morning."

"The doll?"

"The plate of crackers. They were stale, but I ate them quick"

"You're not really eating healthy." Soubi shook his head. "I've made you dinner before, and you never had these doll hallucinations."

"No, I normally don't have them when you've been over for dinner…" Ritsuka laughed, collapsing into Soubi's arms as relief washed over him. "I guess it is from not sleeping and not eating right. I only have these dreams if I don't eat well or don't get enough sleep."

"I told you, Ritsuka, there's an explanation for everything. Go head over to your job. I'm sure those photographs are due soon so the story can be printed with them."

Soubi pointed at a set of the photos that were close together. One was of all the floats together, another of Kio telling his story, and the third of the mayor speaking to the town.

"I personally like those best, but it's up to the editor."

"Thanks."

Ritsuka tucked the one of Soubi and Nisei talking into his pocket when Soubi walked back to his desk as the phone rang.

"I'll show myself out." The photographer stated.

"Alright. Sukidayo." Soubi replied.

"Sukidayo." Ritsuka gathered up the rest of the photographs and left the office, closing the door quietly behind him as Soubi spoke into his phone.

" _It's almost time, Agatsuma._ " The voice on the other end of the phone stated. " _He's almost ready for the big finale._ "

"So soon?" Soubi wondered, disappointed. "Too bad…I rather like this one…"

" _Everyone in_ town _knows you like this one_." Nisei's voice groaned. " _He had_ ears _when he first came here, you know_."

"Shut up."

Nisei laughed as Soubi hung up without another word.

"So rude, Soubi." A tiny voice said from the windowsill.

The curtains moved and Seimei poked his head out. "You could have at least said goodbye first."

"As if you care what Nisei and I do." Soubi sighed. "You'd better be more cautious, Seimei. He's getting suspicious."

"He's been suspicious since the day I met him." Seimei giggled. "Don't worry. It will all be over soon. It's only a matter of time before he breaks."

Soubi sighed. "Can't you stall this one?"

"I'm _hungry_. Your… _urges_ …can be satisfied otherwise. Kio wants to get in your pants, you know." Seimei's nose crinkled in disgust as his good eye blinked.

"I'm not into Kio."

"Yet."

Soubi rolled his eyes. "How crude of you, _Seimei_."

The doll smirked. "You're one to talk about crudeness, Soubi. Sleeping with the sacrifice." He scoffed. "I thought you had better self control then that. For shame."

"He's cute and he's into me." Soubi shrugged, lacing his fingers together on the desk. "What more do you want from me? I sold your house and got you a new sacrifice, as I do every time you get hungry. What I do in the meantime shouldn't be any of your business."

Seimei rolled his eyes. "You and I both know that isn't true. I overheard you two that night and wished I was dead again so I didn't have to hear him screaming your name…"

Soubi smirked at the memory.

"Hentai." Seimei accused. "Just watch yourself around _my_ sacrifice, before I decide to take you instead!"

The doll disappeared, face distorting as he did so. Soubi put his head in his hands and slid them down until he could lace his fingers over his mouth. Whatever Seimei said goes…but…maybe this time…just this once…he could defy the doll that yearned for Ritsuka's soul.


	8. The Confrontation

Dlbn: As promised, here I am with a new update! I'll post another later tonight.

Nbld: Let's start with the Review Corner! Thank you to Promocat for reviewing! Pie for you!

Promocat: Got that right. I feel like in the series Seimei may expect Ritsuka to sacrifice himself in some way (if the anime's ending means anything other than being random nonsense)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Loveless or anyone in it. It all belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off of writing this story.

Disclaimer 2: I do NOT own the song *** by ***, which this fic is based off of. I make NO money out of referencing it.

000

Dinner with Soubi that night had been nice, but the blonde had seemed rather distant. Ritsuka tried to convince himself that it was just because he didn't want to get Ritsuka in the mood to do anything when the point of all of this was to just get him good food and a good night of sleep. Still, sleep couldn't find him as he lay awake in his bed three hours after Soubi had left; convinced Ritsuka was asleep when he had only been faking it. The photographs still confused him. He'd looked at the negatives after turning in the photographs to the editor and getting his next assignment. The assignment was relatively easy. It was the fiftieth wedding anniversary of an elderly couple in town. Ritsuka only had to take a few photographs of them-one of them alone and one of them with their two children and four grandchildren-while Osamu interviewed them and her partner recorded the conversation. At least there was no way for that intrusive doll to sneak his way in. Being at a town event where it was crowded and busy and he wasn't likely to be spotted was one thing. Showing up at a private residence where there weren't many people and he could easily be detected was another. Seimei seemed smart enough, so there was no way he was stupid enough to do something so reckless and risk exposing himself. Then again, if he could appear in photographs from the parade and go missing from them within fifteen or twenty minutes, maybe he could appear at the home and get away with it. Either way, Ritsuka would keep ti to himself if he _did_ see the doll. Last thing he needed was for people to begin thinking he was going insane like the others in Kio's story been reported doing. He wasn't fond of the idea of being locked up like his mother should have been years before she murdered his father. Really, he couldn't blame her and only her for that instance his father _was_ a lousy father and husband, and all around shitty person. He'd cheated on his wife for years and ignored her slow descent into madness although everyone, Ritsuka included, had warned him. He was only a little surprised to see his father's mistress and her son from a previous relationship at the funeral; a small diamond engagement ring on her finger. He'd been too disgusted with his father to say anything to her. She probably hadn't known he was still married until he was dead. Keeping secrets was one thing his father _was_ good at. After all, he kept this Amia woman and her son secret from his wife for so long. Why not keep his wife a secret from them as well? It would explain why she was willing to wear his engagement ring.

Unable to sleep, Ritsuka stood and kicked off the blankets. He trudged into the hallway to the door that led to nowhere or somewhere and tried to push it open. This time, the door gave way for him and he was able to get into the room. It was still full of dusty boxes like it had been before.

"Seimei?" Ritsuka called. "Are you in here? Or am I alone?"

"You're never alone, Ritsuka." Seimei spoke from behind him.

Ritsuka jumped, surprised to see the doll in the hallway. "Oh…you scared me."

"My apologies. I was just heading to bed." Seimei nodded, grinning politely. "It isn't nice to go into people's rooms without their permission, you know."

"Sorry…" Ritsuka muttered. "I just had to make sure this was…"

"Was what? Real? Oh, dear Ritsuka, it's all _very_ real. I assure you." The doll nodded. "Now, I saw Soubi here again. He's acting rather strange, isn't he? Like he's not interested? Pity. I thought you two might stand a chance…"

"Not interested?" Ritsuka shook his head. "You've got it all wrong. He wanted me t get some good food in my stomach and get some sleep so I'd stop hallucinating you…"

"How rude, I'm no hallucination."

"If he'd gotten too close, I would have been tempted to take him into my room with me." Ritsuka shrugged. "He was just taking care of me, is all."

Seimei shook his head, walking around Ritsuka with stiff legs. "So naïve." He commented. "I may not know what love is, myself, but I can tell what it looks like when someone loses interest in the person they once claimed to love. After all, he got your ears from you. What more does he need?"

Ritsuka stormed past the doll and slammed the door shut. How dare that little thing insinuate that Ritsuka was nothing more then some kind of cheap lay? Jerk. He shut off his flashlight as he crawled into bed. Pulling the covers over his head as he turned onto his side and closed his eyes to sleep, Ritsuka didn't notice the gleaming purple eye in the darkened corner of his bedroom.

000

When Ritsuka awoke the next morning, he passed the door that led to nowhere as if it wasn't even there. He was still irked at the doll for the night before. He paused at the top of the stairs. Had he really just thought that? The plum eyed teen shook his head and laughed nervously.

"Maybe I _am_ going insane…"

"I wouldn't say that." Seimei's voice greeted.

Ritsuka let out a shout as he jumped and turned, gripping tight to the banister for support.

"God damn, Seimei!" He cursed, clutching at his chest. "You scared the shit out of me!"

"Language, Ritsuka, language." Seimei scolded, rubbing one porcelain finger against another in a scolding motion.

"I think I deserve to use a little bit of foul language with all the crap you do around here!"

"Ah, who ever could believe that someone who looks so angelic while sleeping could have such a _mouth_ on him?" Seimei practically swooned. "What complex creatures you humans are. It… _intrigues_ me."

Ritsuka shuddered. "You're such a creep."

"Not nice." Seimei frowned.

"You deserve it." Ritsuka shrugged.

Seimei didn't seem to like that but he didn't say anything about it. Ritsuka continued on down the stairs to get breakfast before going to meet Osamu to prepare for their assignment.

000

To say that he wasn't bored listening to the elderly couple's story of how they met would be a bold faced lie. Ritsuka took photographs as he was instructed to do before the interviews began, but Osamu insisted on a photograph or two of her conducting the interview for the newspaper office's bulletin board. He tried to ignore the feeling of sleep coming over him as he listened to the couple go on and on. He laughed when appropriate and threw in the occasional 'aw' when Osamu did. Looking around the room, he spotted a few family photographs hanging from the wall and on the bookshelf. The house was rather average and reminded him a lot of one of his old foster homes. Probably the second home he was in. Almost everything was the same; from the arrangement of the furniture to the type of carpeting in the living room. The only thing that wasn't the same was the creepy little Seimei doll sitting on the steps in the hallway. Ritsuka looked back to the couple to seem interested. Wait, what?! He turned back quickly to look at the stairs, but the Seimei doll was gone.

" _It's all in my head. I'm just spooked by those damn dreams and hallucinations, that's all._ " He thought to himself. " _The doll isn't here because he doesn't exist. Soubi told me so and he wouldn't lie to me._ "

Ritsuka blinked in confusion when he spotted the doll at the end of the hallway, grinning at him before turning around, first just the body and then the head. Seimei began walking down the hall.

"Um…I'm really sorry to interrupt, and even more so to even have to ask this, but…may I use your bathroom?"

The couple's granddaughter, about six years old, giggled.

"Sure." The grandfather smiled gently. "It's right down that hallway, fourth on the left."

"Arigato. Very much." Ritsuka quickly walked down the hall, hearing the interview pick back up as he did so.

He spotted Seimei standing near the entrance to the bathroom and scooped him up, taking him into the room and shutting the door. He set the doll on the counter and held him there by the shoulders.

" _What_ are you doing here?!" He wondered, his growl more of a whisper so he wouldn't attract attention.

"I wanted to be with you." Seimei pouted, but it was far from adorable. "It's oh so lonely at that house, and you have such _interesting_ adventures."

"I'm _working_." Ritsuka had to resist the urge to slam the doll into the medicine cabinet. "I don't need to be seeing _you_ around here when I need to concentrate."

"You were practically sleeping. Hardly something to focus on." Seimei scoffed.

Ritsuka sighed and set the doll on the floor. "I've had enough of you. See yourself out before you get yourself caught. I'm going back to work. _Don't_ bother me."

"I just wanted to be friends." Seimei sniffled, though there was no way his nose was stuffed or his eyes were watering.

He was a _doll_. Not a human.

Ritsuka sighed. "Hard to be friends with a three inch tall _stalker_."

He flushed the toilet and ran the water for a few minutes for good measure before exiting. Osamu was standing outside the door.

"Talking to yourself isn't healthy." She said.

"I was on my phone." Ritsuka replied. "Not talking to myself."

"Sure." She giggled. "We're done now, but I didn't think leaving without saying anything would be nice."

"Yeah probably not." He agreed.

"Well, come on, let's get going then."

Ritsuka spared one more glance at the bathroom to make sure the doll wasn't in plain sight, only to find him gone. Not surprised, he sighed and continued leaving. The door underneath the sink opened and Seimei's little head poked out. He growled before shutting the cabinet door.


	9. The Library

Dlbn: As promised, here's another chapter for today! Wahoo!

Nbld: No Review Corner since we posted this with too small a time gap for anyone to review in. But we need to hurry up and get cracking on this so it's done by Halloween.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Loveless or anyone in it. It all belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off of writing this story.

Disclaimer 2: I do NOT own the song *** by ***, which this fic is based off of. I make NO money out of referencing it.

000

Ritsuka ran a hand through his hair as he sat in Soubi's office, waiting for the blonde to finish a conference call with a real estate agency in the next town about a house for sale in the midway that no one had been able to sell yet. Stupid Seimei following him to his job like a creep and getting offended when Ritsuka got annoyed. How else was the ravenette supposed to feel? He was being stalked and terrorized by a doll that managed to appear in photographs but disappear as soon as they were shown to anyone-that was Ritsuka's working theory, anyway. He could have just managed to disappear after the photos were developed-, and he doubted there was even an _exact_ way to feel about this sort of thing. After all, it was insane and just sounded ridiculous when he thought about it or said it aloud. He really needed some answers beyond a superstitious old story told by the townsfolk to keep their children and confused newcomers in line. There was no way it was true, but that was happening to him had to be real, too. He heard Soubi end the phone call and stood up, making his way to the blonde's desk.

"Hey, Soubi?" He wondered.

"Hai?" Soubi looked up, paused in his writing.

"Is there anywhere around here that I could read up more about the history of this town? You know, beyond the story Kio told?"

"Well I'd start with the library." Soubi nodded out the window. "The records office is right next door if you want to try there, too, but they close in half an hour."

"Guess it's the library for me, then."

"Why are you asking?"

"That whole story thing just got me curious about the town. Like the people who came up with that story? Must have seen or done some pretty messed up things to come up with a story like that."

"Ritsuka…you saw the doll again…didn't you?"

" _Seimei_. His name is _Seimei_. And yes, I did. And I confronted him." Ritsuka nodded, puffing out his chest a little. "He's a stalker. And a half-backed one at that. Seriously, if I was a psychotic, possessed doll, I wouldn't be going into people's homes and stalking the person I live with. Way too easy to get noticed."

"He probably isn't afraid to get caught. Know why?"

"Why?"

"Because he doesn't _exist_ , Ritsuka. I'm telling you, it's all in your mind. I promise." Soubi brushed away Ritsuka's bangs from his eyes. "Sukidayo, Ritsuka, but I swear you're imagining all of this. I know Kio's story is a little…out there…and can have a certain affect…on some people…but I swear, Ritsuka, this is all in your head."

Ritsuka brushed him away. "I wish it was, Soubi." He gathered up his things. "Thank you for the support, but I need to figure all this out on my own. I'll be at the library when you get off work. If you want to be seen with a nut job that is."

"Ritsuka, I didn't mean anything like that. Having an imagination is a good thing, a rare thing sometimes."

"Meant it or not, Soubi, that's kind of how it sounded."

With that, he left the office with a slam of the door. A couple employees roaming the halls looked at him curiously, but he held his head high and wandered out of the building. If Soubi thought it was all in his head, that was fine. But he _knew_ it wasn't, and he would prove it. Back in Soubi's office, the blonde artist banged his head against the desk a few times before resting it on the edge of the desk.

"Nice going, Soubi." He muttered to himself. "You're a god damn idiot."

000

It had taken Ritsuka about an hour and talking to two different librarians to find the information that he needed. He had been given some reference books, a couple books from the town council office, some medical records from the health clinic, and some old leather journals; one had belonged to the 'Shaman' in town during the time of the story, another belonged to the husband from the first family driven mad by the child. He decided to read the Shaman's words first.

 _It was horrifying, that sight at the house on the hill. An entire family. Slaughtered in cold blood. There are not enough words in the Japanese language to describe the sight which I have seen on that night. Bloodied bodies lying in the bottom of a well, a child hanging from a tree. Was that mysterious stranger to blame? Hark, what was that noise coming from the tree? The boy! The boy was alive! It's impossible! He was hung from the tree by his neck, yet he lifted his head to look at the gathering crowd as if nothing had happened. There was no way that boy was alive. It just did not make sense._ The man's writing was barely legible but Ritsuka concentrated hard enough to form some semblance of letters, let alone full words. _His eyes. There was evil in his white-dead eyes. I cannot theorize a way in which those eyes were of anything of this world. Just what had come over the boy? What was I dealing with? It was some sort of demonic possession. My talisman worked wonders on that eve. A couple chants and rubbing of the charm caused a reaction to be dragged forth from deep within that boy's soulless body. That screaming, oh that horrid screaming! My ears still bleed from that wretched sound! As quickly as it began, it stopped, and we were able to gather our wits. He needed to be buried. Oh, but those fools! How I pity them and their stubborn, foolish pride! They did not heed my warnings! The boy was not buried on consecrated ground, was not buried deep enough. They think they know better, but they do not. I've seen this too many times in the old world. The living dead. Dead that come back to life. That boy will be a curse the likes of which this town hath not seen in a fortnight. The fools…shall never know the evil they hath unleashed upon this town._

Ritsuka sighed. This old Shaman was probably the origin of the story. Pissed off by the fact that they had not listened to him, his pride got the better of him and he distributed the story around town to make the locals fear and respect him more. Starting with the most impressionable group; the children. It all made sense now. But if the old man had died on the gravestone, then how had this entry been written? Perhaps it was from before the shaman's death. Ritsuka pulled up some records from the medical facility of the town to see if he could find anything about the so-called insanity that plagued the people who owned the house. One particular entry from a local doctor caught his attention.

 _The Yamaguchi family has suffered a strange case of delirium. They're the first people to own the house on the hill since that mystical_ incident _in 1905. The case was first brought to my attention by the husband, Takuya, when he informed me that his wife, Sakura, had begun babbling in tongues and would not stop. He would speak to her in both Japanese and English, but she would only reply with that incoherent babbling. It wasn't until this mysterious case escalated that a clue as to what had come over this family had come to light. Takuya began wandering around town aimlessly at all hours of the day and night, screaming half-coherent sentences about a child terrorizing himself and his life. He began to grab onto passerby's in hopes of getting them to hear his pleas and assist him and his wife. I had no choice but to deem them insane and have them both shipped off. He began babbling about a child's revenge as they were carted off to the most local institution. A search of the home led to several disturbing journal entries about this so called 'child'. No such child was found in the home. The case of the Yamaguchi couple will go unsolved._

Ritsuka found another journal in his pile and leafed through it. When he noticed the signatures at the end of each entry read 'Yamaguchi', he became interested. The first entry about a child had been written four days after they had moved into the home and settled down.

 _This house holds more than we once thought. My wife saw him first. Just a glimpse of a black haired child. At first, I thought that perhaps she was letting delusions and her desire for a child overwhelm her. Ever since we lost our possible first born son two years ago, she has been seeing children everywhere. She has never really mourned for our lost child. Perhaps this child she has seen could be the answer to our prayers?_

 _I have seen him. He came to us at dinner. The child with the raven black hair and the purple eyes. He's dressed in tattered rags, seems scared out of his mind. He's afraid the townspeople will find him and kill him._ Again _. He said. Kill him_ again. _How could a living, breathing, walking, talking child have been killed before? It didn't make sense. Still, we have taken him in as one of our own. Perhaps this is the child we have longed for so long._

 _There is something not right with that child. He sits and stares, often talking to no one. Who does he think is there? Who or what is he seeing? We cannot figure it out for the life of us. He's always there. Just staring, watching, waiting, talking…I wanted to seek assistance from the town, but my wife encouraged me not to. Perhaps I will just let this play out and see how it ends._

 _Revenge. Revenge. The child wants revenge. He babbles about it constantly when he thinks we are not paying attention. He draws signs and symbols that I do not understand on the walls in blood. This child is evil. Do not let this child get to you. Beware the child! Beware_ Seimei!

Ritsuka almost dropped the book in shock as his blood ran cold. The entry was written in 1914. That meant Seimei was at _least_ a hundred years old. But he was just a _child_. A little _doll_. Maybe the name was just coincidence? There were no more entries after that one. That must have been right before they shipped the couple off to the mental institution. He didn't have any more journals, but he looked into the coroner's records in the book that he had gotten from town hall. One from 1914 caught his attention. It was the autopsy report for the town sheriff; the man who had lost an eye in Kio's story.

 _Autopsy findings for Sheriff Kamiro Hideki. Left eye was ripped from its socket; weapon unknown. Appears that Kamiro suffered a heart attack. No witnesses to his death. Body discovered by townsman Yaguchi Aido. No foul play suspected._

Well, that part added up to Kio's story. Ritsuka read a few more evaluations of former residents of the house before deciding that none were worth the time. As Kio's story had said, most, if not all of them, had an instance of insanity run through at least one member of the family. What disturbed him was that in every case, the person who lost their mind would babble on about a child, revenge, and the name Seimei. Something about that doll had driven people insane. Ritsuka could understand, since he felt quite insane himself at this point. Filliping through an old catalogue of families living in the town, something familiar caught his eye. In 1965, about thirty years before he was born, there was a family that had moved into that residence for the first time in a good twenty or thirty years. He hadn't spotted a medical record for that year that had to do with some fit of insanity. Either the family covered it up, the record was lost, or…well, Ritsuka couldn't think of another reason that there was no record about it. He scanned across the page until he found some names. The last name, Shio, sounded familiar. It wasn't until he spotted the first names of the parents that Ritsuka's blood ran cold and he had to look away for a minute to gather himself. Shio Daichiru and Shio Yume were the names of his grandparents on his mother's side. The third resident of the home was named, as he had feared it would be upon seeing those names, Shio Misaki. His mother! His psychotic mother who had committed her own suicide and the murder of his father by fire! He frantically searched through records to find anything about that side of his family, anything at all, but came across nothing. A phone! He needed a phone!

"Excuse me." He greeted a librarian after having run through the building to get to her desk. "Is there a public phone I could use around here?"

"The closest one is in the Mayor's office, unless you want to go ask Agatsuma to use his work phone." She whispered back to him. "Are you alright? It looks like you've seen a ghost."

"Not a ghost, but something close enough. Thank you." He bowed before racing out of the library.

He _could_ ask Soubi to use the phone, but his so-called boyfriend had already practically deemed him insane and said he was just having delusions. If he had asked to use the phone and then began talking to his grandparents about this, Soubi would probably interrupt, end the call, and send him off home to bed, saying he just needed more rest. That left the Mayor's office, Yayoi and Yuiko's shop around the corner, and Nisei's Inn. Since he was about ninety-five percent certain Nisei was involved, he couldn't go there. He didn't want the Mayor to think he was going nuts too and have him shipped off, but he didn't want to involve the antique dealers. He really didn't have a choice.

000

Yuiko was humming to herself as she cleaned the countertop near the register when Ritsuka came into the store.

"Oh, Ritsuka-kun, you're back." Her smile was clearly fake. "Anything new about the box?"

"No, nothing." He replied. "Do you have a phone I could use? It's really important."

"Sure." She handed him a rotary phone. "Hope you know how to sue it. I'll go help Yayoi so you can have some privacy." She practically dashed off as Ritsuka dialed a phone number.

" _Shio residence. This is Yume speaking._ " The voice of an elderly woman greeted from the other end.

"Uh g-grandma? It's Ritsuka…" He greeted. "Aoyagi Ritsuka?"

"Oh!" She seemed surprised. "Ritsuka, it's been so long! How are you?!"

"I'm alright, grandma."

"Ritsuka?" His grandfather's voice chimed in. "You never call here. What's wrong? Need something?"

"I just had a couple questions." He replied.

"Shoot!"

"You guys…did you used to live in this little town out in the middle of nowhere?"

"Samura?"

"Yeah, there."

"Yes we did. Why do you ask?"

"Well…um…I just moved here and…I had a few questions about the…um…house on the hill…?"

The line went silent.

"Hello?" He asked after a few minutes.

"We're here. Why would you move there?" His grandfather wondered.

"I needed a place to stay, and family wouldn't take me in, and I couldn't live off my friends, but this was the cheapest place I could find." He scratched the back of his neck. "Can I ask you about the house?"

"Sure…" His grandmother began.

"Yume…"

"I think he's old enough now, dear, to know these things." She replied.

He sighed. "Fine. What do you need to know, kiddo?"

"There…um…there's this thing going around that the house was…haunted…and that people that lived there went…well…went crazy."

"Yes…?"

"But there's no record of that happening when you guys lived there." Ritsuka stated. "Was…was everything okay…?"

Silence.

"Hello?"

"It's…it's hard to discuss." His grandfather replied. "Your mother…your mother was always a rather… _unusual_ child. She never really associated with anyone; kept to herself and didn't really have friends."

"We didn't think that it was strange when she began talking about an imaginary friend." His grandmother added.

"Imaginary friend?"

"She would talk to us about a young boy that lived in the house. She said he was older then he seemed. She called him…oh…what was his name…?"

"Was it Seimei?"

"Why…yes, I think so. How did you know…?"

"It's the name of the child from the town's legend."

"The Founder's Day Parade? Yes, we thought she had gotten the name from that. But over time. Things just got stranger…"

"She said Seimei was telling her to do things."

"What kind of things?"

"To kill people. Us in particular, because we tried to convince her that he wasn't real. She said he was angry and jealous, and wanted us to know that he wasn't made up. Like he was _offended_."

"I think it was her that was offended, honestly." His grandfather stated. "We didn't want her sent away, so we didn't tell anyone. Faked a family tragedy and moved to Kyoto."

"We thought all that nonsense was behind us. Your mother started to forget about Seimei. She started to be a normal little girl; making friends and talking to everyone she could talk to." Yume sighed. "We thought we were in the clear, but after you were born, she started to threaten your father. Saying that Seimei would come and save you two from him. That he was a bad husband, a lousy father, and that he didn't deserve either of you. She just kept going back to the idea that Seimei would come and find her and take her away. They fought a lot because of it."

Vague memories of his father saying 'no one is coming to get you' came across Ritsuka's mind. So that's what he had meant. She had thought Seimei would take her away, and he tried to convince her otherwise.

"Was that why they split?"

"It was. Your father began seeing another woman. And when your mother realized that Seimei wasn't coming for her…well…that's when the _incident_ happened…"

He could practically hear his grandmother shudder.

"This Seimei creature was plaguing your mother's mind long after we left that Hell House." His grandfather prattled on. "A town's story had fractured your mother's already fragile mind so much that she had gone insane, imagined that Seimei was haunting the house, and ended up murdering her own husband."

"That house isn't good, Ritsuka. Stay away from the house on the hill…promise me…?" His grandmother wondered.

"Um…"

"You bought it…didn't you…?" His grandfather wondered.

"Yes…" He confessed. "I didn't know the story behind it. Soubi didn't tell me…"

"Soubi?" His grandmother sounded surprised. "Who is that?"

"The Real Estate agent." Ritsuka replied. "And…um…my boyfriend…it's complicated. Like really complicated." He shrugged. "Can I…um…can I ask you who the realtor was when you moved in?"

"Oh, what was his name…?" His grandmother wondered.

"Um…I believe it was Akame…"

"Akame…?" Ritsuka swallowed hard. "Akame Nisei?"

"Oh, no, no, Taguchi." His grandfather replied. "I'm pretty sure that was his name. He had a son named Tarahan, but I don't think that there was ever a Nisei with a relation."

"Akame Nisei runs the Inn here. He's not much older than me."

"Could be his grandson?" His grandmother wondered. "I don't know, darling, I'm sorry."

So Akame _was_ involved somehow. Some kind of a family business to be associated with that house.

"Did you ever get a wooden box?"

"No."

"Oh. Akame gave me one."

"That's…strange…?"

"A housewarming gift, I think."

So how did the real estate business go from Akame to Soubi? Just what _was_ the connection between Soubi and Nisei? Were they really former lovers? Then who the hell was Mimuro? Someone Nisei had left Soubi for? Nisei's accomplice? He was getting more questions than answers. He'd have to make a note of it to ask Seimei later if he remembered his mother.

"Well, that was nice." His grandmother stated. "I'm sorry, honey, but we don't know any more than that. I do wonder why the real estate business shifted from Akame to this Soubi fellow. Unless he's an Akame?"

"No, Agatsuma."

"Unfamiliar name." His grandfather stated. "I hope we were able to help you, Ritsuka."

"Oh, yes, more then you'll ever know."

"Ritsuka? Just tell me one thing?" His grandmother wondered.

"Hai?"

"Have you seen this… _Seimei…_ character?"

Ritsuka paused for a brief second, hoping they hadn't caught onto it.

"No, I haven't."

"Good. Then you haven't been touched yet."

"Touched?"

"By insanity. There's definitely something strange about that town, let alone that house. I don't know what it is, but something just isn't right be careful."

"I always am."

"Arigato."

"Gomennasai for bothering you."

"Oh, no trouble at all, sweetie. Let us know if you need more."

"And be careful in that house. If you start seeing this _Seimei_ creature to, get out of there before he destroys your mind like he destroyed your mother's."

"But…I thought he was just an imaginary friend…?"

"We don't know, Ritsuka. We don't know."

They bid their goodbyes and hung up. Ritsuka shouted a thanks to Yuiko. She and Yayoi walked out of the back office.

"Domashimashite, Ritsuka. Any time you need to use the phone, just ask." She grinned.

He nodded in agreement.

"Arigato to both of you." He nodded. "Hey, um, my grandparents used to live here, and they said that the Akame family ran the Real Estate office back then…but now Soubi does…is there a relation…?"

"None at all." Yayoi shook his head. "The Akame family was in control of it when we were kids, too. Until old man Taguchi died of a heart attack."

"Nisei's grandfather?"

"Yeah." Yuiko nodded. "His father wanted nothing to do with this town, so he left when he turned eighteen. He met Nisei's mom and they had him and I think two other siblings, but I'm not too certain. He came here with Mimuro after his grandfather passed."

"I don't know when they passed it onto Soubi, though. I think it was after Mimuro left. Soubi needed a job, so Nisei gave it to him."

"But why did Nisei leave?"

"He never wanted to get into real estate. Not his thing."

"But being an innkeeper was?"

"He didn't want to leave this town, hoping that Mimuro would come to his senses and return here. The Inn's owner died after he left the real estate office, and he took the job because the old woman didn't have any next of kin willing to do so."

"So if I get this right, Nisei's grandfather died, so he and Mimuro came to take over…but Mimuro left and Nisei gave up the company to Soubi…?"

"Soubi came a little before Mimuro left. I wonder if that's what drove him out? He was always so nice. He wanted to be with Nisei, everyone knew that, but it wasn't going anywhere. I think he ended up being jealous that Soubi got so much of Nisei's attention."

"Bringing us back to the 'Nisei and Soubi used to be a thing before they came here' theory." Yuiko giggled. "But we don't have proof of any of it. You should probably talk to Akame himself."

"Yeah, I should. He should be at the Inn right now, right? I'll head on over."

"Good luck." Yayoi nodded. "Let us know what you come up with."

"I will. Thanks guys."

They bid their farewells before Ritsuka left, the door shutting behind him with the ding of the bell. So Seimei had made his mother go insane. It sounded like his grandparents believed he was real, to some degree, since they had warned Ritsuka of him. And this shift of ownership of the Real Estate Company and alleged love triangle of Soubi, Nisei, and this Mimuro fellow was just peculiar all around. The only people who could answer on that were Mimuro-and Ritsuka didn't know how to get a hold of him-and Nisei and Soubi themselves, but he knew they weren't going to talk. That left one person. Seimei.

000

"My grandparents used to live here." Ritsuka greeted Soubi as he entered his office.

"Oh?" He wondered.

"Before I was born. Mom was just a kid. They said she went nuts living in that house on the hill, too, so they left. No record of her going mad was kept here since they kept it all one giant secret."

"How odd. And here you are years later, living in the same place." Soubi chuckled. "Listen, Ritsuka, I'm sorry about how our conversation ended earlier. I believe you, I do, but I just don't want it to affect you. I don't want you to go insane trying to figure all this out, when there's a logical reasoning for everything. I didn't mean to insinuate that you were insane."

'It's alright. I'm just so stressed out and disturbed that I over reacted." Ritsuka pulled Soubi into a quick kiss. "Gomennasai."

"It's quite alright I would be too if I were you."

"Hey, Soubi?"

"Hai?"

"Mom mentioned Seimei to my grandparents."

"O-Oh…?"

"Yeah. Eventually he told her to kill people, mostly them, because they tried to convince her that he wasn't real." Ritsuka gulped. "Minus the telling me to kill part, history's repeating itself with you and me and, honestly, I'm terrified."

Soubi puled Ritsuka onto his lap. "It won't happen. I promise you."

"I know…but…before my mom killed herself and my father, she kept telling him that Seimei would come take her away. He haunted her even after she left this town, grew up, and started her own life. What if…what if I can't escape it? It may be all in my head, but what if it follows me for the rest of my life? I just can't do it, Soubi, I just _can't_."

Ritsuka buried his face into Soubi's shoulder, letting out light sobs. Soubi whispered words of encouragement and rubbed small circles on his back as he glared at the little face with the plum eyes in the window. The face glared back before disappearing from sight.


	10. The Call

Dlbn: Here we are with another chapter! Looks like we don't have as many left as we thought, so there won't be as many updates this week as I had intended and warned you of.

Nbld: Thank god, because we'd drive ourselves crazy trying to keep up. Let's get the ball rolling with the Review Corner! Thank you to Promocat and Maki-Sensitivity for reviewing! Ice cream for you both!

Promocat: You got that right. Seimei's just making things worse at this point. The canon Seimei is tame compared to this one.

Maki-Sensitivity: He's actually rather intimidated by Seimei, he just doesn't show it. To a point he doesn't want Ritsuka to worry, but he's also afraid of telling Ritsuka the truth because it could hurt them both. But he definitely should be thinking more of Ritsuka then of Seimei at this point. Poor boy is convinced he's going insane for god's sake.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Loveless or anyone in it. It all belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off of writing this story.

Disclaimer 2: I do NOT own the song *** by ***, which this fic is based off of. I make NO money out of referencing it.

000

When he returned home later that night, Ritsuka was in better spirits than before. Soubi had clocked out early and taken him for a nice dinner back at Soubi's home instead of his own or some local restaurant, or the café. It was nice spending time alone with him until Kio came home, but it wasn't bad having Kio around. Minus the few jokes of a sexual nature that Kio had told them. Soubi had walked him home, and Ritsuka had watched him walk down the hill before he went inside to deal with the doll…he meant to deal with being alone in the dark at night. Kio had apologized for his story scaring Ritsuka and causing the bizarre hallucinations. In the end, though he didn't believe it, Ritsuka told Kio it was alright to put his mind at ease and that maybe he'd forget about it now that he had apologized.

"Seimei, we need to talk!" He called into the house a few minutes later. "I don't know where you crawled off to this time, but come on out! We really need to _talk_!"

He heard the sound of porcelain clicking on the tile floor and turned towards the kitchen. Seimei strolled past him with stiff legs and sat on the bottom step of the staircase.

"What is it, Ritsuka?" He wondered. "Is something…bothering you…? Don't you have a blonde's shoulder to go cry into?"

"You…you saw me with Soubi earlier…didn't you…"

"Bingo!" Seimei chuckled. "I did, indeed. I told you that I've been following you. Just what were you hoping to accomplish in that library, Ritsuka?"

"My mother. You knew her."

"Did I? Aoyagi doesn't ring a bell, other than you…"

"Shio. Her last name at the time was Shio. Shio Misaki."

He cocked his head to the side.

"You told her to kill her parents because they tried to convince her that you weren't real."

"Oh, her! So fun, that one." Seimei cackled. "Her mind was already so fragile when she moved here. Made the chase so short, but oh so satisfying!" He leaned back, laughing as he held his stomach. "Oh, such great memories!"

"More like nightmares."

"For her maybe." He snorted, laughter ceasing. "For me, it was rather amusing. Until they decided to just up and leave. She didn't even know they were leaving until she came home from school to find the house packed and they drove off into the sunset. But not me. They left me here…the next people that bought this place weren't fun at all. Could barely drive them insane before I had to just end it in their sleep."

"Stop it! I don't want to hear that!" Ritsuka covered his ears. "I'm a pacifist! I don't care if they were serial killers! I don't need to know how you killed them! Disgusting!" He retched.

"You're a rather pathetic little thing, aren't you? Makes me wonder what in the world Soubi sees in you." He looked him over. "Well, you're easy on the eyes, I guess…"

"Gross." Ritsuka complained. "I know the Akame family used to run the real estate office. But now Soubi does. What the hell happened there?"

"Ah, that Mimuro character turned everything all topsy-turvy." Seimei nodded once, neck creaking. "He and Akame were…an item, I suppose. They weren't when they moved here together, but when they became that way…things changed…"

"Changed?"

Seimei shook his head. "I won't say more on that subject, Ritsuka. If you must know, ask Akame himself."

"He insisted to the antique shop workers that they were never a couple."

Seimei blinked his good eye. "People lie, you know." He stated. "Like how Soubi lied and said I wasn't real. Just a hallucination, that's what he thinks I am, right?" He scoffed. "Pathetic how someone you think _loves_ you could lie to you so easily."

"He didn't lie. He just doesn't believe you exist, is all."

"So he says. And you believe him?" Seimei scoffed again. "You're so _naïve_ , Ritsuka! When the truth comes out, you won't like it. I just wonder who it will be to tell you…Soubi…or myself…"

Ritsuka rolled his eyes. "If you won't give me answers, I'll go out and get them tomorrow."

"Fine, suit yourself."

Seimei stood, brushed himself off, and turned to the stairs. He climbed up a few stairs before his head spun to look at Ritsuka.

"But when the truth isn't what you wanted, don't say I didn't warn you."

He grinned a creepy grin before turning his head again to the stairs and walking up. Ritsuka watched the doll go up a few steps before heading towards the kitchen to make toast to settle his stomach. Talking to the doll always made him want to vomit.

000

Sitting at his desk the next morning, Ritsuka ran a hand through his hair as his tired eyes scanned the digitalized images of his photographs from the elderly couple's interview. He really hated the part of the job where he had to pick the best pictures for the article, since each one was a precious memory in his mind, but it had to be done. At least it got his mind off of that damn doll Seimei. The creepy little bastard hadn't bothered him that night past when he got back, so he had a feeling that he was overdue for a long session of irksome conversation with the little psycho. He barely registered when the phone rang on his desk. His left hand quickly moved from combing his hair to grabbing the receiver as his right continued to click through the photographs.

"Aoyagi Ritsuka, photographer." He greeted, sounding tired. "How may I help you?"

"Are you alone right now?" A male voice wondered.

Ritsuka looked up. There were only three other people in the office, and none of them appeared to be on the phone. Two were arguing over something by the water cooler, and the third was heading out for a smoke break. The Editor-in-Chief was out that day for some family related event.

"No, there are other people here."

"Can they hear you?"

"Not that I know of."

"Is there somewhere you can go where it won't rouse suspicion?"

"There's nowhere that I can take the phone with me. It's not cordless."

"Well shit." The voice sighed. "I thought this would be hard to do at work, but I know you don't have a house phone and…"

"Who are you and how did you know where I work and that I don't have a house phone?"

"Everyone knows you bought that house up on the hill. There hasn't been a working phone in there in…well, forever. With all the craziness, I'm not surprised by that, really."

"You're not answering my questions. Who are you?" Ritsuka repeated.

"Are you in an office or out on the floor?"

"Office…"

"Shut the door then, would you? I don't want anyone to overhear. They wouldn't believe me if they could, anyway."

"Sure…"

Ritsuka sat down the phone and crossed the room to close the door. He returned to his desk and sighed before picking it up.

"Okay, the door is closed." He stated.

"Good."

"So _now_ will you answer my question?"

"Yeah, yeah." The voice replied. "Have you met him yet?"

"Him?"

"The doll."

Ritsuka felt his blood run cold. "How did you know about Seimei? Did Soubi or Kio put you up to this?"

"Agatsuma and Kaido? Ugh, ew, no. Sorry but they're not exactly my favorite people in the world." The voice denied. I wouldn't help them if they paid me."

"Then how did you know about him?"

"It's a long story." He replied. "My name is Shinonome Mimuro. I'm…"

"Mimuro? Are you the guy everyone says Akame used to be with?"

He could practically hear Mimuro flush on the other end as the other male swallowed his pride with a deep swallowing sound.

"Nisei and I were never a thing." He denied. "Doesn't mean I didn't want to be, but you know, that's not really your business…"

"Considering the fact that people say Soubi and Akame used to be together, and Akame told me to make sure I don't hurt Soubi, I'd say it is my business a little…"

"They were never together." The other male laughed. "Whoever told you is an idiot. They're always at one another's throats."

"What? Why?"

"Agatsuma was Nisei's replacement."

"What?"

"I fell in love with Nisei not long after I moved to this town. My cousin Hitomi works in the café. I'm sure you've been there, since you seem to be on a first name basis with Agatsuma and it's where he used to hang out all the time."

Hitomi…Ritsuka wracked his brain trying to remember who that was. Oh, the mousy brunette girl at the café that day when he met Soubi. Right.

"Oh, her. Soubi and I are on more than just a first name basis, but go on."

"Don't tell me you're in love with him…"

"Well, I wouldn't say _in_ love, but that really isn't _your_ business, either."

"Fair enough, but you asked me about my love life, so don't be surprised that I returned the favor." Mimuro sounded cocky on the other end of the line.

"So what does any of this have to do with Soubi replacing Akame?"

"Well, I'm sure by now you've figured out that Nisei's grandfather used to run the real estate agency way back when, right?"

"I'm well aware. But now Soubi runs it…"

"Well _that's_ bound to piss Nisei off…" Mimuro muttered. "Not the point. Anyway, I used to live in that house on the hill that you own now."

"I didn't see your name in the records…"

"A few people that lived there were stricken from the records some time ago."

"Why?"

"Don't ask questions. Just listen to me if you want answers to the questions you already asked."

"Your answers are making more questions."

"If you want to know about that, then go talk to Nisei later after you get out of work." Mimuro sighed in annoyance. "As I was saying, Nisei was in charge at the time and sold me the place. I fell in love with him practically at first sight."

"I can't see why…"

"Again, not the point." Mimuro replied, almost snarling. "He didn't like that. You know, Seimei? The doll?"

"That you were focused on someone other than him?"

"Right." Mimuro agreed. "But it's a bit more complicated than that. Seimei thought that my feelings for Nisei were going to ruin his plans. Nisei liked me, too, but only as a friend, so we spent a lot of time together. Seimei wasn't able to get into my head like he got into other people's. And, as I'm sure you've learned by now, he's a controlling little bastard; emphasis on _little_ and _bastard_. Anyway, he gave Nisei a choice. Ditch me or lose the family business. Nisei chose me."

"Seimei runs the business?"

"Oh, he has for years. But that's a story for Nisei to tell. If he will. You'll have to talk to him, and tell him I spoke with you. He won't tell you a thing unless you mention me."

"Alright…?"

"That's where Agatsuma comes in. He's one of the people who used to own that house." Mimuro went on. "Seimei couldn't get into his head either, simply because Agatsuma was too headstrong and logical of a thinker to believe in a talking doll. Seimei almost got him, and by _got_ , I mean _kill_."

"So…when Seimei told me he killed the last owners…he wasn't joking…was he…?"

"Most likely not. For a doll, he's pretty powerful. And dangerous." Mimuro confirmed, making Ritsuka's blood run colder than it already had. "They ended up making a deal."

"You…you mean…?"

"Agatsuma took over the business on Seimei's orders. Seimei wouldn't kill him if Agatsuma went along with his plans and helped him. He's got a sick hold over him, just like he had a sick hold over Nisei until I came around." Mimuro stated. "I was Nisei's partner for a long time. We ran the Inn together until I got sick of having to hide the truth about Seimei to every new family that came and stayed in the Inn while they waited to check out the house."

"So that's why you left…you wanted out…"

"But Nisei wasn't willing to go with me. His entire family had succumbed to Seimei, and he was the last of the Akame line at the time. Since then his parents have had another child, a girl, but she's too young to come around here on her own. Or at all. 'Daddy's little girl' is what Nisei calls her. Unlike him who had to get out at eighteen when he moved here, she'll probably be allowed to stay until she's ready."

"I was told that Nisei took over the business because his grandfather was sick?"

"He did. But his grandfather was the one how took him in when his father kicked him out. Nisei came here to seek refuge. And instead, he got dragged into the family insanity."

"Why hadn't his father?"

"His father hadn't believed the ghost story Kio tells around here at the parade. He thought everyone was insane for believing it, and left town as soon as he could. If he hadn't, Nisei wouldn't have been born, and the business probably would have died with his grandfather. I can't see his family uprooting their lives to take over the real estate office of the man his father had abandoned." Mimuro went on. "I'm telling you all this because you're in grave danger."

"I sort of figured I was without your help, but thanks." Ritsuka said sarcastically.

"I know." Mimuro stated. "And I also know that Agatsuma is probably telling you that the doll is all in your head, no? That's the same bullshit line Nisei tried to feed me until he gave up. That's what Seimei does. He tricks people into his world of terror and forces them to do the same to other innocent people. Do not listen to Agatsuma. The doll is _very_ real and _very_ dangerous. Either join him, let him destroy your mind, or let him kill you."

"I know. My mother was a victim…her family lived here when she was a girl." Ritsuka stated. "She thought Seimei was her friend, even when he told her to kill her parents. She used to tell my father that Seimei would rescue her from him, according to my grandparents. In the end, she killed him."

"I'm sorry…" Mimuro seemed sympathetic enough. "Seimei leaves a trail of blood and broken lives behind him wherever he goes. Now, I've said my piece. Just run. Get out of that house and move out of that town. You'll be safer that way. Do not say anything to Nisei about leaving, do not say anything to Agatsuma, either. And _definitely_ don't tell Seimei. He'll snap and try to kill you. If they know, Seimei will know, too. He lost your mother when her family moved. He'll take _you_ instead in revenge. Don't let him win."

"There is no revenge. She didn't just kill my father…she killed herself. He got his revenge. She went insane with thoughts of him long after she left here, and it ended up killing not only her, but the man she had once loved."

"But he didn't get the body, didn't get the spirit; didn't get the _thrill_ of the kill. That's what he craves. It's what he lives off of."

The sound of a door unlocking on Mimuro's end of the line made the other male speak quicker.

"Heed my warning and get _out_ of there in secret." He spoke. "I'm begging you. Save your life. If you care about Agatsuma like you seem to, don't make him live with the guilt that he got you killed. I have to go. My girlfriend is home."

"Wait!" Ritsuka spoke quickly, cradling the phone close to her mouth. "I have one more question."

"What is it? Quickly!"

He heard footsteps. Why was Mimuro so afraid of his girlfriend finding out? Probably because the whole thing was insane and she'd most likely have him locked up if she heard.

"Is there any truth to that story? The Founder's Day one!" Ritsuka asked. "Is Seimei the possessed spirit of the boy the Shaman ordered them to bury?"

"Only Seimei can answer that, but it's likely. Now go!"

The line went dead as Ritsuka heard a door open and a woman's voice calling out to Mimuro. Ritsuka slowly hung up the phone and ran his hands through his hair, yanking harshly on the end of the silky ebony strands. He groaned, thankful the door was closed and privacy blinds were down. How much crazier could this thing _get_? Soubi was almost a victim but he was too headstrong to fall for Seimei's insanity? Mimuro was almost a victim but was saved by his love for Nisei and Nisei's desire to stay friends? Nisei was forced to help Seimei get victims by selling the house, and now Soubi was forced to do the same? Damn it, he should have asked Mimuro about the box. He doubted he'd get another chance to talk to the man, since he seemed petrified that his girlfriend would figure out what was going on. But who told him that Ritsuka lived there and where he worked? Maybe someone who was supposed to be on Seimei's side was hoping to cross him, as well.

000

The less than happy look on Nisei's face when Ritsuka burst into the inn was satisfying. He was reading a magazine while sitting behind the counter, so it wasn't like Ritsuka was interrupting anything important or bothering customers.

"Ah, Ritsuka-kun." Nisei greeted, closing the magazine and setting it down behind the counter. "What brings you to my Inn? Miss me? Or here to thank me for the box, perhaps?"

"What the _hell_ are you up to?" Ritsuka slammed his hands on the counter.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."

"That box is ancient. The key inside it is ancient. The carving of _my name_ into the key is ancient!" Ritsuka explained. "How did you get that box and key, and _why_ is my name engraved?"

"The engraving only looks old because the key is old." Nisei argued. "My word, you're suspicious."

"It's the one part of the puzzle I can't understand. I talk to experts on old stuff and they said it was made with a welding tool from the 1800's."

Nisei's grin faded away. "God damn it, I _knew_ I shouldn't have given it to you in that store. But he _insisted_ on giving it to you that day, and I didn't have time to wait to find you later." Nisei growled, slamming his fist into the counter.

"He? You mean _Seimei_ , right?"

Nisei's head shot up at the name. "The boy from the story? Are you on something?" Nisei asked. "Or have you been sniffing chemicals in the dark room when you're developing your work photos?"

"Don't play stupid. I've seen him. And I know why your family doesn't own the real estate company anymore."

Nisei's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Who told you about that?" He hissed.

"I got a phone call from _Mimuro_ today. Name ring a bell?"

Nisei was silent.

"You're the one who told him to call me, aren't you?"

Nisei didn't answer.

"Someone had to call him and tell him not only that I lived in that house, but how to get a hold of me since my house has no phone." Ritsuka snapped. "Since you and Soubi the each other, I doubt Soubi would call your former lover and tell him what's going on, nor that Mimuro would listen to him. That leaves you. No one else around here knows about Seimei. The curse on your family, right? The Mayor from the story, the one that didn't listen to the Shaman…it's your ancestor, no?"

He had put that together on his way over. It was the only reason that Nisei's family would be enslaved by the doll. Seimei was the child form the story, the curse the Shaman had mentioned was of his own creation, and the Mayor's family had been the ones to suffer for not listening to the Shaman. Whoever the Shaman was, his family was directly responsible for the curse on the Akame family, Seimei, and that house. It was rather sad, really. Their pride led to them being enslaved by a killer _doll_ who liked to take people's souls. If they had only listened to the Shaman, this all could have been avoided. The other owners of the house wouldn't have gone insane. Mimuro probably would still own that house, Nisei's family would own the real estate company, Soubi wouldn't live here, Ritsuka's mother wouldn't have killed herself and her father because Seimei drove her to insanity before her family left the house, and he never would have gone into the foster care system and probably would have never ended up here, himself, with Soubi. He might even still have his _ears_. But no. They didn't listen, and now families had to be destroyed and lives had to be torn apart just because one family thought they knew better than a Shaman. Pathetic and enraging. But Ritsuka kept his cool. It wouldn't do any good to lash out at Akame now. It would only stop him from getting the answers he needed.

"Besides, you _hate_ Seimei, don't you? For being a curse on your family, for driving Mimuro away and into the arms of a _woman_ …"

"Woman?"

"He has a girlfriend he lives with. Didn't you know?"

"She's a girlfriend now?" Nisei growled. "God damn it…"

"As if you didn't know."

"He claimed they were friends last we spoke. Which was _before_ you got here. So how could I have told him all this information if you hadn't even lived here at the time, hm?"

"Simple. You're lying." Ritsuka huffed. "But I do have to wonder…how could the family of town's _mayor_ be reduced to selling real estate to unsuspecting idiots?"

"You're one of those unsuspecting idiots, I hope you're aware." Nisei stated. "What happened way back then to shift power is not your business. We got kicked out of office when people started going insane in the house. The town was _convinced_ that my great-great-great-great-great grandfather brought a curse upon the house and the town itself by not listening to that stupid Shaman."

"So the story is real."

"Of course it is, you _unsuspecting idiot_ who bought a _cursed house_!" Nisei replied, laughing at his own joke. "All legends and myths come from somewhere! Though I'm pretty certain that dead kid came back to life at the Shaman's hand and he's the psycho that caused all this bullshit in the first place, but that's conjecture for another day." He waved his hand. "Why are you asking me all this? What exactly did Mimuro tell you…?"

"He said if I wanted answers to questions he couldn't answer, I would get the answers from you if I mentioned his name and said I spoke to him."

"That idiot." Nisei smiled fondly.

"Also…you didn't correct me about saying that he was a former lover…"

"You'll think what you want regardless, just like that couple in the antique shop do. My ears were gone long before I came here, meaning they were gone before Mimuro was a part of my life. Try again."

"Why were Mimuro and Soubi's names taken off record as having lived in that house? I found my own _mother_ , but not my boyfriend or your accomplice."

"Your mother?" Nisei looked surprised. "Must have been when my grandfather still ran the joint…"

"Even after they left, Seimei's memory haunted her and drove her further into insanity then he had done while she was here. She ended up murdering my father and killing herself by setting our house on fire after she realized Seimei _wasn't_ coming to save her."

"How tragic." Nisei folded his arms over his chest and flopped back into his seat behind the counter.

Ritsuka swallowed the lump in his throat. "Answer my question."

"Under Seimei's orders, I destroyed the records at the Office of them ever living there. Would have looked suspicious if two people had lived there and not been affected by the 'child'." Nisei stated.

"Is Seimei a child or a doll?"

"He's both." Nisei stated. "Or maybe he's neither. I'm not quite sure what he is. He's a curse, the very personification of insanity." He shrugged. "All I know is that little bastard has reigned over this town without the people inside of it ever knowing."

"If you and Soubi hate each other, why did you tell me not to hurt him?"

"I was trying to scare you off of him." Nisei stated. "If he fell for you, he'd be thrown into the Inn job with _you_ as his assistant, and where would that leave me? Surely Seimei wouldn't give me _my_ real estate office back. He'd probably toss it to _you_ instead." He was digging his nails into his arms.

"Mimuro never worked at the Office, did he?"

"No, of course not." Nisei shook his head. "He's the _reason_ Seimei's prefect little hold over my family fell to pieces. Seimei would have rather killed him then let him take over that _important_ job."

"So he gave it to Soubi…that's why you hate him? You should be happy! You're no longer Seimei's _slave!_ "

"You think I'm not?" Nisei chuckled. "Don't make me _laugh_ , Aoyagi. I'm _still_ Seimei's unwilling servant. I just have different duties then I used to."

"So who had this job when you were running the real estate office?"

"Well, Kaido did. Now he just tells the story."

"He was a part of this, too?"

"God, no. He just had this place for sale around the time that Seimei tossed me aside for your _boyfriend_. He had just bought the Laundromat because he thought there was more money in it, since we didn't get travelers very often." Nisei shrugged. "So very convenient. He grew up here, though, so he had never had to run into Seimei by living in that hell hole."

"Doesn't mean Seimei hadn't influenced his decision to sell this place."

"Well…no, he didn't. Shujimeki Akira owns the Laundromat. He was looking for a new partner because he couldn't afford it himself anymore. Kaido just so happens to be his boyfriend, so it was a perfect fit. Kio wanted a better job that got him more money, and Akira needed someone to help him with his business."

"How convenient for Seimei…"

"A lot of changes happened in this town that year. That Yayoi kid inherited the antique shop from his uncle who passed away. Of course, his parents had run it until he was old enough to do so himself."

"What happened to his parents?"

"They moved away to retire somewhere nice. Ropongi Hills, I think." Nisei shrugged. "Nothing to do with Seimei, I assure you. The only people in this town with shit to do with him are you and me, and Soubi. If Mimuro had stayed, he would have been in on it, too."

"Soubi tried to convince me Seimei wasn't real…"

"If he failed, I don't know what Seimei would do to him. The real estate job has its perks, so I doubt he'd want to lose it anyway." Nisei shrugged. "Ask him why he lied. It's pretty obvious he likes you."

Ritsuka raised an eyebrow. "It is?"

Nisei nodded. "When he first started working for Seimei, he had five families live in that place over the years. With each family, he grew more and more distant from everyone else. I guess he felt guilty or something. But you're here and he's different. First of all, plenty of people in town want to sleep with him, but he chose _you_. Second of all, he actually smiles and _talks_ to people. He's a completely different person now, Ritsuka. And it has something to do with you. Normally Seimei would have moved a little slower in driving you insane. But he's rushing it. Before Agatsuma makes a decision to turn on him."

"You think he would?"

"For you, yes."

"Were you and Soubi…ever…you know…?"

"If you're asking about that rumor that we used to be together before I moved here, the answer is _hell no_. I didn't even know him until he came here." Nisei crinkled his nose in disgust. "So no, I don't know where his ears went, but you'll be happy to know the only person in town he's screwed is _you_."

Ritsuka flushed. "That's not important…" He replied. "What's important is how I stop Seimei before I end up like my mother…"

"I may hate Seimei for what he's done to my family and my _life_ , but I can't help you kill him."

"Who says I have to kill him?"

"Everyone knows that to break a curse, you have to kill the cursed thing."

"Or take the curse away."

"Unless you're a Shaman, Aoyagi, you can't do that."

Ritsuka huffed. "I'll stop him without killing him. You'll see." He huffed before turning to leave.

He hear the rustling of paper as Nisei went back to his magazine.

"Hey, Akame?"

"Hm?"

"One more question." Ritsuka turned to the Innkeeper, who was looking at him quizzically over the top of his magazine. "If your family is descended from the Mayor and Seimei is the child…then whose family is descended from the Shaman?"

Nisei smirked. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"That's why I asked, yes."

"Well I'm not telling."

Ritsuka huffed before turning to leave.

"Hey, Aoyagi?"

"Hai?"

Ritsuka's hand was inches from the door knob. His heart thumped in his chest.

"Your question?"

"Hai…?"

Ritsuka's heart felt like it was about to burst out of her chest.

"Agatsuma."

Ritsuka paled before quickly throwing open the door and fleeing the Inn. That was why Soubi was too headstrong to fall for Seimei. He was probably immune to the curse since his family had cast it. God damn.


	11. The Plan

Dlbn: Only one chapter left after this, so this will be the last update until Saturday for the epic conclusion!

Nbld: So let's get the ball rolling with the Review Corner! Thank you to Promocat for reviewing! Candy and ice cream for you!

Promocat: He's always been so submissive to Seimei in canon, I figured maybe there was a reality where Soubi just _might_ be slightly immune to him. Then Ritsuka comes along. I feel like his love for Ritsuka outweighs his fear of Seimei, we just haven't seen that side of him yet *shrug*

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Loveless or anyone in it. It all belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off of writing this story.

Disclaimer 2: I do NOT own the song *** by ***, which this fic is based off of. I make NO money out of referencing it.

000

Soubi had shown up on Ritsuka's doorstep later that evening, claiming that he had heard from some people in town about Ritsuka running out of the Inn and demanding to know what Akame had done to him. Ritsuka had ignored him until he went away, saying something about getting the information out of Akame if Ritsuka wasn't going to answer. He sounded more hurt then man, but at this point, Ritsuka didn't care. Soubi had _lied_ to him. He had almost been a victim of the doll _himself_ when he first moved to town, now worked for the doll, but spent Ritsuka's time in town trying to convince him that he was imagining things. For what? To help Ritsuka? To ease his own mind? And why had Nisei called Mimuro to get him to try and help Ritsuka? To tell him to run away. If Seimei found out, he'd be _pissed_. And Nisei, and maybe even Soubi and Mimuro too, would have to pay for it. None of this made any sense. Four people who never knew one another existed before moving to the same town and dealing with the same cursed house had all these connections. Soubi's family cursed Nisei's, that curse created Seimei, Seimei tried to take Mimuro but he fell for Nisei, Seimei caused Ritsuka's mother to go insane and led him to the town, where he fell in love with Soubi. Life sure was strange, but this place was as strange as they came. He still remembered when he arrived and the town seemed run down, but was miraculously vibrant and lifelike the next morning. That probably should have been his first hint that this place wasn't on the up and up. Ritsuka sighed as he paced back and forth in his kitchen, debating on going to the blonde's office to speak with him. The doll had made his otherworldly presence known as soon as Soubi had gone away, and was munching on some peanut butter and cracker sandwiches Ritsuka had made for himself but hadn't bothered to eat.

"Just going to ignore him, hm?" Seimei wondered, swallowing what was in his mouth.

It still fascinated Ritsuka that the little doll could even _eat_. Then again, he was a cursed child that just looked like a doll and had stiff joints.

"I don't want to speak with him right now."

"Lover's quarrel?"

"There has to be two people involved for it to be a quarrel, so no. I just need some space to cool off. He made me feel like a crazy person with this whole thing."

"What whole thing?'

"You. Saying you're all in my head."

Seimei offered a hand. "You know I'm here. Touch me if you don't believe me."

Ritsuka put up a hand. The idea made his skin crawl. "I believe you. I touched you before, when I picked you up at that elderly couple's home."

"Oh, right." Seimei went back to munching. "Not nice to touch someone without permission. Normally I don't like human contact, but I'll let it slide just this once."

"Thanks."

"You're very welcome, Ritsuka." Seimei nodded. "What are friends for?"

Ritsuka shuddered, hoping the doll didn't see it. It didn't seem like he did, since he was staring at a cracker he was chewing on. If driving people insane was what Seimei did to his _friends_ , Ritsuka hated to see what he did to his enemies.

000

The next morning, Ritsuka stopped at Soubi's office. The blonde watched him make himself comfortable, waiting for Ritsuka to speak first.

"Good morning." Ritsuka greeted finally.

"Good morning." Soubi confirmed, smiling gently. "I thought you didn't want to speak with me."

"I needed some time to clear my head."

"Oh? I'm sorry to have tried to intrude on your alone time." Soubi wondered. "No more doll?"

"He's a child, Soubi, not a doll. You know that as well as I do."

"Ritsuka, don't tell me you think he's the child from the story…"

"I know the whole story, Soubi. Not just the parts Kio talked about in his story."

"What are you talking about?"

"You and Mimuro living in that house before, you resisting Seimei and taking over Nisei's family's business, you and Nisei working for Seimei; I know all of it."

"Ritsuka, that's nonsense. If I did work for him, don't you think I'd try to drive you _to_ him, not try to convince you he's a hallucination?"

"Mimuro called my office. I confronted Akame. The only one around here not telling the same story is you." Ritsuka argued. "Please, Soubi, I won't be mad at you if you tell me the truth. I know you don't have a choice here. Seimei's a psychopath. A _cursed_ psychopath. You can resist him driving you insane, but you can't resist him telling you what to do."

Soubi sighed. "Ritsuka…"

"Please, Soubi, Sukidayo. I just want to know the truth. _Please_. If you love me and don't want me to go insane, or at least one of those two, you'll come clean…I'm begging you…"

"When did Mimuro call you?"

"Yesterday morning."

"Is all this why you wanted to clear your head?"

Ritsuka nodded. "Yes. It was just a lot to take in. You're descended from the Shaman and Nisei is descended from the Mayor. How could I wrap my mind around that? I just wonder who the Sheriff was, and who that mysterious stranger that killed Seimei and his family are."

He almost slapped himself for that one. He hadn't thought to ask Akame if he knew. But if no one at the time did, then it was likely he didn't either.

"The Innkeeper's ledger from way back then is kept in town hall. It would say who checked in at that time. Whoever didn't check out is probably the killer."

"So you're admitting to this…?"

"I am." Soubi sighed. "I thought if you didn't go insane then maybe, just maybe, you could resist him as well and join me…"

"I could never help Seimei."

"We'd escape. Escape this town, escape that _child_. Let Akame handle it. His family got everyone into this mess. If they had just listened to my ancestor…"

"He wouldn't have cursed them?"

"Yeah…" Soubi nodded slowly.

"How did you find out you were descended from him?"

"My foster father." Soubi replied. "He was friends with my mother before she died. When I told him I moved here, he said my father's family was originally from here. I don't normally trust Ritsu, but…"

"Wait, Ritsu? Minami Ritsu?"

Soubi's face paled. "Is he still fostering?"

"He's the boyfriend of my old foster mother, Sagan Nagisa. She was the one I lived with last. I got along with her kids really well…"

"Well, it appears we were destined to meet after all."

Ritsuka laughed. "Yeah, just in the weirdest way possible."

"Well, I wasn't getting out of here after all this started, and if I did, I definitely wasn't going to seek out Ritsu again. I hated him."

"Why?"

Soubi rubbed the top of his head, blushing as he looked away.

"Oh…oh Soubi…"

"It was years ago. Don't worry." Soubi shook off the memory, patting his lap.

Ritsuka happily got up from his seat and took up a spot on the seat his boyfriend was offering. He buried his face in Soubi's neck.

"I'll never get away from him, will I, Soubi?" He asked. "I'm not special like you, I'm not strong like Mimuro was…"

"You're very strong, Ritsuka. You've resisted him this long."

"But it may not be enough…"

"We'll figure a way out of this somehow…"

"There is no way out…unless…"

"Unless what?"

"Seimei…I have to kill him…"

"What?" Soubi laughed. "You can't kill him. He's already dead."

"He was brought back to life." Ritsuka stated. "And how did he even get into the house in the first place if he was buried in the cemetery? Someone had to have helped him rise and got him back there."

"Story Akame told was that one of his ancestors heard a voice telling him to come to the cemetery. When he got there, the doll was sitting on top of the gravestone. He was so freaked out and remorseful that he put the doll in the house. This was an old family story he was told as a child, or I wouldn't believe it."

"I'm starting to think the Akame family spread all those rumors and urban legends around to seek help and explain to the town what was really going on in that house on the hill. But everyone thought they were so out there that they had to just be scary stories. No one took anything seriously."

"They took the Akame family as serious as they took my ancestor, the Shaman. Some people are so prideful and ignorant."

"But still, that means that the doll crawled out of the grave. Like a zombie. You can kill zombie with a quick blow to the head."

"You think hitting him on the head will do anything? I tried that. _My_ family caused the curse. If anyone could reverse it, it would likely have to be me or a relative of mine."

"Did your family ever teach you how to place and reverse curses?"

"Of course not. That stuff was weeded out a few generations after this nonsense started. The Shaman's son was alive, so he's the one out blood comes from. He made sure to start to weed it out so no one would ever have to suffer from our curses again."

"Smart."

Soubi nodded.

"My mother got away from him. You and Mimuro got away from him. Maybe it's time someone just ends him."

"Or you could just run away with me." Soubi offered. "Tell Seimei nothing. It's not like you have a lot of possessions at the house. Just your camera, the box, some clothes, and a bit of furniture, right? We can ditch the furniture and just take the small stuff. Seimei won't come out when I'm there. I'm some kind of repellant to him or something."

"You're immune to him, and that frightens him. I'd be scared too. After all, you share your blood with the guy who killed and cursed him."

"Right."

"Please, Ritsuka, leave with me. I'll give you a couple days to think about it, okay?"

"Alright. But my mother and grandparents ran away, and he still plagued her until the murder-suicide."

"I know. But you'll be with me. I'm immune to him, like you said. You'll be safe if you stay with me."

"I…I guess you're right." Ritsuka smiled gently. "I'll think about it, Soubi. I promise."


	12. The Finale

Dlbn: Here we are at last! Happy Halloween, folks! And you know what Halloween means!

Nbld: The final chapter! And later tonight when we're at work cuz god forbid we ask for a day off, the epilogue!

Dlbn: Technically the epilogue could wait until tomorrow but nah, it feels more right to end it on Halloween.

Nbld: Probably should have posted this last night and the epilogue now but whatever. No reviews so no Review Corner

Dlbn: So without further ado, here's the pic conclusion!

Nbld: Well a bit further ado, cause of author notes and stuff, but you get the point. We'll reveal the song in the Epilogue or it will give away the ending.

Dlbn: Onward ho!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Loveless or anyone in it. It all belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off of writing this story.

Disclaimer 2: I do NOT own the song *** by ***, which this fic is based off of. I make NO money out of referencing it.

000

That night, Ritsuka lay in bed, staring at the ceiling again. Mimuro _had_ told him to not tell Soubi or Seimei or Nisei he was leaving and just up and _run_. But now Soubi was in on it. It was _his_ idea. Was it a trap? No, it couldn't be. Soubi was offering him refuge. He was the only one Seimei couldn't hurt, and Seimei wouldn't bother to try to go near or after Ritsuka if he was with Soubi all the time. The idea of living with the blonde was _very_ tempting, he had to admit. Ritsuka sighed and uncovered himself, swinging his legs off the edge of the bed. Thinking like this all the time _couldn't_ have been good for his already fragile mind. He was exhausted and annoyed by Seimei and the others to the point where he almost just didn't _care_ anymore. But he couldn't just stop thinking and let Seimei do what he wanted. He promised Soubi he'd think about running away with him.

He stretched. All this thinking was really weighing heavily on his brain and making it impossible for him to sleep yet again. Maybe a nice cup of hot tea would do. That normally put him out when he lived in his last foster home and couldn't sleep. He made his way downstairs and wasn't too surprised when he spotted Seimei sitting at the table, delicate hands folded neatly on his lap.

"Good evening, Ritsuka." He grinned. "Can't sleep?"

"Can it, you little demon." Ritsuka snapped. "I know everything."

"Oh, do you?" Seimei cocked an eyebrow. "He interfered didn't he…Agatsuma…I heard him knocking earlier…"

"Then you should know I ignored him until he went away." Ritsuka huffed, turning on the tea kettle. "He has nothing to do with it."

"You're to…planning to _leave_ me, are you, Ritsuka?" Seimei's lip quivered. "I thought we were friends? You wouldn't abandon a friend…would you…?"

"I'm not leaving."

Seimei perked.

"But I'm not your friend. I'm your next intended victim. Friends don't plot to kill their friends or drive them insane."

Seimei's head turned on his shoulders to face the house's owner. "Who says I want to do _that_?"

"You told me you killed the last owners."

"Self-defense, Ritsuka. Like you said, friends don't try to kill their friends. And they tried to kill me." Seimei sniffled. "How cruel. I just want friends. I'm so _lonely_ here…"

"If you wanted friends, then why did you drive off everyone else who lived here before me? Except for Soubi, of course. You just dragged him into your madness."

"Mimuro…" Seimei growled. "He told you, didn't he? If Agatsuma didn't do it, then someone else involved did. That leaves Nisei, and he wouldn't give himself up like that. So…" He snarled, good eye ablaze. "I always hated Mimuro…"

"Because he defied you and made Akame do the same thing?" Ritsuka wondered, pouring some honey into the cup where his tea bag rested.

"He just didn't sit right with me." Seimei stated.

"Stop lying."

"I'm not. Like you said, he turned Nisei against me. My only _friend_ turned against me by some blonde stranger who wanted to get into his pants…" Seimei's grin faded. "How cruel…don't you think?"

"You enslaved Akame's family and made them bring you sacrifices." Ritsuka argued. "You deserved whatever happened to you on his behalf."

Seimei cocked an eyebrow. "So now you know…the legend isn't a legend at all."

"It's the story of your birth." Ritsuka stated. "The Akame family is descended from the mayor, you're the dead child that came back to life, and the Agatsuma family is descended from the Shaman. That's why Soubi could resist you while Nisei was weak against you."

Seimei nodded slowly. "That could most definitely explain things." He stated. "I'm not saying you're wrong, though."

"I know I'm not. I understand everything now. Soubi's family cursed you to get revenge on the Akame family for not listening to him. So you've used his descendants to capture and kill unsuspecting people to fuel yourself in some heinous act of revenge, and tossed him aside because he was the one person who defied you. Then once you realize Soubi is descended from the man that cursed you in the first place and wasn't affected by you, you tossed Nisei into the Inn to a less rewarding job and had Soubi take his place; once again letting the Agatsuma family put the Akame family in its place." Ritsuka argued with the doll. "My mother and father were unfortunate victims of your delirium."

"You really think you know it all, don't you?" Seimei wondered.

"I do know it all." Ritsuka stated. "I did the research, I asked the questions. If you'd just be honest, I'd stop trying to get to the bottom of this and instead try to help you."

"Help me?" Seimei laughed. "Don't make me laugh. There's no way you can help me. I'm a cursed child. Doomed to walk this earth for all eternity, zapping up souls to keep up my strength…all because one little mayor didn't listen to one little Shaman oh so many years ago. Before my death, mind you."

"Huh?"

"You think this started because he didn't listen about how deep to bury me? How do you think I woke up when I was hanging from a tree, _dead_?" He cocked an eyebrow, good eye twitching in anger as he showed off his teeth with a wide, crooked grin. "Stupid old Mayor Agatsuma stopped following the Shaman's advice before I was even born. In fact, most of the town stopped going to him for advice and assistance anymore. Modern medicine was beginning to become available to us, and no one wanted a Shaman's remedy anymore. His family was practically the town's outcast before the day that stranger came to our town. The Shaman used his attack on my poor, unsuspecting family to enact his revenge. When they found me, he brought me to life. The fools didn't notice him doing so until I was awake and laughing. I wasn't in control of my body." Seimei snarled. "Thank god when I woke up, I was connected enough to that damn Akame family to get help and get back into my own home. Then those fools began spreading the stories."

He knew it!

"And I was afraid they'd find out and bury me again, or…or _kill_ me!" His one good eye got wide. "Lucky for me, people thought they were just fairy tales and started telling them to just scare children and newcomers. I was safe. Akame felt so sorry for me, he started helping me attract people to my home so I could consume their souls when they were at their frailest for sustenance." He sighed in happiness. "It was _wonderful_." His rather handsome features twisted into something dark and hideous. "Then Mimuro came along and ruined everything! I knew Nisei would be hard to break, but to have him go out and flat out _betray me_ the way that he did? A curse on the Akame family did _nothing_ to teach those louts their places."

"You side with the Agatsuma family?"

"If they hadn't stopped _listening_ , if those _wretched_ villagers hadn't stopped listening to Shaman Agatsuma, he wouldn't have snapped and cursed me!" Seimei looked ready to cry. "But they did, and Mayor Akame set the example for them to do so by continuing to disobey him. I could have been spared! I could have lived a peaceful afterlife! But no! They thought they knew better, and now I'm cursed to walk this world forever with no rest! They only thought of themselves! They all did! No one thought of me! Ever! No one! I hate them…I hate them so much…that's why I turn them. That's why I drive them crazy and kill them. I take their souls in penance for what they did to me! This whole world can just go to _hell_ for all I care!"

"What about the stranger? The guy who killed you and your family? If he hadn't killed you, none of this would have happened. You would have lived a nice, no curse life with your family."

A strange look touched Seimei's eyes. "I'm glad you agree, Aoyagi Ritsuka."

"Seimei…who killed you…?"

"A mysterious stranger that came into town. He befriended my mother. Poor old woman fell for his nice guy shtick. That's what killed us…her _compassion._ "

" _Seimei_." Ritsuka tried to get his attention. "Who killed your family?"

"A young fellow…by the name of Aoyagi Ritsuka…"

"W-What…?"

"Your name…your first name is an old family name. It was my voice that gave your mother the idea to drudge up family records and find an old name. Irony at its finest when she chose _Ritsuka_!"

He laughed, the evil sound practically shattering Ritsuka's defenseless eardrums. As soon as the sound had started, it stopped, and all was quiet.

"Ahem." Seimei cleared his throat. "My apologies."

"You're insane…"

"I am offended by the insinuation." Seimei snorted.

"Not my problem." Ritsuka replied, putting more honey into his tea without thinking of it.

Seimei cocked his head to the side. "Do you _really_ need that much honey?" His disapproving tone made Ritsuka want to slap him off of the table. "It can't be good for you."

"Why do you care? Will it taint my soul if I put in too much?"

"No, your soul has a unique, unchangeable taste." Seimei replied. "But if you put in too much honey, it might kill you too soon, and that just won't do."

Ritsuka put in more honey. "Maybe I should just drink a cup of honey, then."

Seimei glared. "Ritsuka, do _not_ do that to your body!" He scolded. "What's wrong with you?"

"It's my body and I will put inside it what I want to put inside it."

"I thought putting things inside of you might be Soubi's job." The doll smirked.

"That's it!" Ritsuka dropped the bear-shaped honey container onto the counter. "I'm sick of your shit!"

"What? It's true. From what you were saying that night, I can only assume you're on the receiving end." Seimei shuddered. "But enough of that. Your honey is spilling on the floor, Ritsuka. you wouldn't' want to waste it like that, would you?"

"Why do you care?" He folded his arms over his chest. "You're the one who wants me to cut back on it."

"Well, _yes_ , I want you to cut back on so much at once. Can you even drink tea with that much honey in it? I don't think honey dissolves. It's not like sugar. Well, it's sweet like sugar, but it doesn't have the consistency of sugar. Know what I mean?"

"You're rambling.

"Sorry." Seimei shrugged.

Ritsuka picked the honey container up and squeezed some more into his cup.

"Ritsuka, please, _stop_!" The doll begged, standing up and placing his hands on the box of sugar on the table. "You're going to rot your teeth and clot your arteries!"

"I'll be fine."

"You're _not_ going to destroy your body! Not under my watch!"

"You're not the boss of me, Seimei. I don't eat a ton of sweets. I'll be fine. Push that sugar closer to me, would you? So I can put a scoop in?"

Seimei stood in front of the sugar, blocking it with his tiny body as if Ritsuka couldn't reach over the top of him and grab it himself if he wanted to.

"No way." Seimei shook his head. "All that honey is just the amount of sweet you need. What if it's too sweet and you have to toss it out because you can't take the taste? You said you don't eat a lot of sweets, so you're not used to a lot of sugary items in one go. You could go into some kind of sugar-induced coma or diabetic shock or something!"

Ritsuka was pretty sure that Seimei was talking out of his backside, but he didn't call him out on it.

"Come on, Seimei. Let me have the sugar."

Seimei sat on it this time. "No way! You won't destroy your body, Ritsuka. I won't allow it. I care too much."

"You don't care. You just want my body for yourself."

"Hentai." Seimei accused. "I swear, I'm just trying to _protect_ you!"

"I'm descended from the guy that killed you. If you kill me, it might reverse your curse, since it's clear you won't be able to kill Soubi or control him, since his ancestor cursed you." Ritsuka stated. "That's why you want me healthy. Taking my soul will save your ass."

"I _told_ you! Souls never change flavor!"

"But that doesn't mean they can't be tainted and destroyed."

"Of course they can. But a good soul or a tainted one, your soul is still of use to me!"

"Aha! So you _do_ want my soul for your own purposes!"

"I do _not_! A soulless person doesn't make for a good conversationalist, does it? And I need someone of an intellectual mind to talk to. Mimuro had one but he turned against me the first chance he got, then split town the second chance he got. Leaving poor little Nisei alone to mourn for the loss of his friend who hadn't even died, just chose a better life without him. How tragic. Soubi has a brain, but he's just a puppet. I haven't had anyone come in here with such a strong, intelligent, well-educated mind like yours before. It's something I've been _craving_."

"You could have ended this curse by taking my mother's soul, but her parents took her away before that could happen, didn't they? I bet that pissed you off something fierce." Ritsuka commented. "So now you're stuck waiting to get _my_ soul to reverse it. Isn't that right? Don't go on about that intelligent conversation stuff. I don't buy that bull for a minute."

"Well it's true!" Seimei huffed. "Stop being so rude and careless, Ritsuka! You won't win against me! No one else has! Sure, Soubi got out of here, but he's _still_ my servant! And Nisei? He's stuck serving me as well! No one has ever _escaped_ , just changed the role they play. And if you think you're going to be the first to break me, you're mistaken. I _will_ win in the end, Ritsuka! It's my _destiny_! To die and live in the afterlife with my family once again, like I should have done so long ago!" He pointed up.

"You can't believe that you'll be going where they are, can you? You're a killer, Seimei. You're going the other direction." Ritsuka bent his finger a few times to point to the ground. "Getting my soul and ending your curse won't change that."

"I'm an unfortunate _victim_ in all of this, Ritsuka." Seimei sighed, shaking his head slowly. "I was cursed and _forced_ to do those things."

"You know. Had you not done all this and caused all this hell and _pain,_ I might have sympathized with you. Maybe even helped you find a different way to reverse the curse that was put on you. But you know what? I feel _no_ sympathy for you. You deserve whatever punishment and hell you get, Seimei. Whether you want to believe it or not, you're _evil_. Evil never knows when it's evil because they're doing what they think is good for them. But if anyone else looks on your actions, they'll _know_ you're evil!"

There was a spark in Seimei's eyes that Ritsuka didn't really like. It was if the child's sanity was finally cracking apart and slipping away. He was about to lash out.

Seimei grabbed a fork off the table, which looked rather large in his tiny hand.

"I am _not_ evil!" He argued. "Take it back!"

"I won't, Seimei. I'm entitled to my opinion."

"Please!"

"What are you going to do if I don't take it back, hm? Fork me?"

"Once again, that's _Agatsuma's_ job!"

Seimei tossed the fork like a javelin. It sailed past Ritsuka's head as the young man moved to the side to get out of the way. It clinked against the wall before falling into the sink. The tea kettle began whistling as Seimei picked up another fork.

"Hold still, damn it!"

He tossed it, missing again. He kept throwing forks until he was out of them. Ritsuka dashed to the table and scooped him up in one hand.

"It's over, Seimei. You've met your match with me."

Seimei glared. "No, I haven't!" He leaned over and chomped down on Ritsuka's arm.

"Ow!" The ravenette complained.

He dropped Seimei, who ran off like a madman.

"Get back here!"

Ritsuka chased after the doll, ignoring the stinging and throbbing in his arm from the bite. He spotted Seimei trying to hide behind a cushion on the downstairs chair. He crept over and tossed the pillow aside, grabbing the surprised doll by the leg and holding him upside down. Hanging from Ritsuka's hand by the foot, Seimei's deep frown looked like a sadistic grin.

"Want to try that again?" Ritsuka wondered.

Seimei just glared.

"I didn't want to have to do this, Seimei. I really wanted to try and help you. Poor creature." He pet Seimei on the head, rubbing his hair down to soothe the angered doll. "But this bite was the last straw."

"So what are you going to do with me?" Seimei wondered, folding his arms over his chest and attempting to throw himself into a sitting position.

Ritsuka shook him back down each time he tried to sit up.

"You'll see. I'm ending this here and now."

"How?" Seimei's eyes lit up, the good one opening as wide as the busted one was frozen.

Ritsuka said nothing. He made his way over to the fireplace and picked up the box Nisei had given him. He sat Seimei inside and propped him against the side as if he were sitting in a boat. Seimei cocked his head to the side, curious as to what Ritsuka was doing.

"Are you going to lock me in here? How will that help me?"

"You'll see."

Ritsuka let the child lay down before shutting the lid and locking it. He peeked in through the keyhole at the child, who was still grinning as his good eye blinked and bad eye stared, unseeing, at the young man holding him in his new prison.

"I guess this box has a purpose after all." Ritsuka said, sitting the box on the mantle.

He struck a match from his matchbook against the brick fireplace. It lit up and he sighed. He took the box and set it down inside the fireplace.

"I'm sorry, Seimei. I wish there was another way poor cursed child. I'm sorry for what my mysterious ancestor who shares my namesake did to you. I guess it's fitting that someone who shares the name with your killer would end up being the one who finally breaks your curse." Ritsuka stated.

"Thank you, Ritsuka." Seimei spoke from inside the box. "I can be at peace now."

Ritsuka felt a lump grow in his throat. "You're welcome."

He tossed the match into the fire place with the box. As flames consumed it, frightened, demonic screams began rising out of Seimei.

"Ritsuka! Ritsuka why? Help me!" He cried, sobbing. "Don't do it this way! I don't want to die again! Help me!"

Ritsuka sighed, leaning back in the chair as he tried not to listen to the doll or think about what was happening to him why did he feel so week all of a sudden? He closed his eyes to try and relax and get some strength back. It was only a few minutes before he began coughing. Covering his mouth with his fist, he coughed into it as he opened one eye to see what was becoming of the box and the child in it. But what he saw frightened him to the core. There was smoke filling the air around him, and through the smoke and burning flames, he could see the box. He put his hand up and his fingers grazed against the lid of a box. He noticed the bite mark on his arm was no longer an angry red, but a rather calm darker cream color that made it stand out on his skin. No, how could this be? The box…he was in the box! Flames licked at his toes as he desperately tried to kick away from it.

"No!" He cried out. "No Seimei!"

The sound of his voice startled him. He sounded more like Seimei then himself. Maybe it was from the smoke? He heard a deep chuckle from outside the box and realized the sound was coming from himself.

"Seimei? What did you do? Seimei! Seimei!"

He couldn't breathe. The air around him was too thick. He should have listened to Mimuro and Soubi. He should have just said yes and run away with Soubi that night. But no. once again, stubborn pride led to the downfall of good and the rise of evil. He coughed, the sound getting lighter and lighter without much force behind it. He took a couple deep raspy, gasping breaths. This was it. He was going to die in this box. Soubi…Nisei…Mimuro…they'd all be free…but at what cost? What would Soubi do without him? He'd probably move on; find some other young man to fill the empty space in his bed that was meant for Ritsuka. Whoever his ancestor Ritsuka was, he hoped the man was burning in the fiery pits of hell like Ritsuka was doing now. He looked towards the keyhole but was greeted by darkness. No one was looking back at him.

"Seimei?" He called again, voice weak.

No response. He felt consciousness slipping away from him slowly. He took a deep, gasping, raspy breath, one good eye opening wide like the one he could no longer close. He felt his limbs growing stiff and he couldn't move. His head turned back to the top of the box. The words 'do not burn' were carved into the wood, slowly melting away like the rest of the box and Ritsuka himself. With one more cough and gasping breath that arched his back against the pine and the flames, he was gone; eyes forever open in a look of pure horror.

In the kitchen, the tea kettle stopped whistling.


	13. The Newcomers

Dlbn: Here we are at last! The Epilogue!

Nbld: No reviews so no Review Corner. Here we go!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Loveless or anyone in it. It all belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off of writing this story.

Disclaimer 2: I do NOT own the song "Creepy Doll" by Johnathan Coulter. Which this fic is based off of. I make NO money out of referencing it.

000

Three months had passed since Ritsuka went missing. Soubi ran a hand through his long blonde hair as he sighed. It was thought by most of the town that Ritsuka had just run off without telling Soubi, finally too spooked by Kio's story and the hell house to stay there. But he had come to Soubi before he left. Something was wrong. He wasn't the Ritsuka Soubi had fallen in love with the moment they met. He told Soubi that the curse was broken, but he may want to stick around town a little longer to see it through. Soubi hadn't been sure what he had meant, but he had felt compelled to stay in the town and not leave after Ritsuka like he had planned on doing before. Ritsuka hadn't called since then. No one in town had heard from him since. A couple families had moved into the home and left it, claiming there was a creepy doll that unnerved them and made it uncomfortable to stay there. Soubi hadn't been to the house himself, not wanting anything to do with the home that gave Ritsuka to him, yet drove him away in the end. But if the curse was broken, then that meant Seimei would be gone. Therefore no more doll. Strange.

This was the first time he'd been to the home since Ritsuka had left. Nisei had come back to working for the office since Seimei had been silent, so he had been the one to show the house to people. The Inn was still open, but visitors never really stayed long enough to have use of it. The two slaves to the Cursed Child didn't really speak beyond mentioning if someone was interested in the house and/or if it sold. But Nisei always seemed to have this knowing little glint in his eyes, as if he'd seen something in the house he hadn't been willing to share with Soubi. That's why Soubi was here, now. To check it out for himself.

He opened the door and stepped into the house. Everything was as it was the last time he'd been inside the home. The furniture had never been moved. Ritsuka's personal affects that were left behind had been put in a storage room in Soubi and Kio's house, and the blonde once and a while felt himself compelled to look through it. Ritsuka had taken a big bag of money with him when he left, so there was none of that lying around. Other than Ritsuka' stuff being gone, everything looked untouched. It was clean, though, since other people had lived in it and kept away the dust and cobwebs. Soubi slowly made his way through the home.

"Seimei?" He wondered. "Are…are you here?"

As he suspected, no one answered him. He sighed, mentally scolding himself for even thinking of it. He made his way up the stairs and walked straight past the door that led to Seimei's room. He heard a light knock against the wood as he passed. Pausing in his walkthrough, he turned around to see the door. He heard the thump again. With a shaky hand, he reached towards the door knob. He grabbed the cold brass in his hand and slowly pushed it open. Daylight was streaming in through the windows, making it much brighter than when Ritsuka had first stumbled in the room and found the cursed doll-child.

"Hello…?" He greeted.

A small voice he slightly recognized instantly called out.

"Sou…bi…?" It wondered, sounding as if he was just now learning how to use his words.

He couldn't place exactly where he'd heard it before.

"Seimei?" Soubi wondered.

A little doll in tattered blue jeans, and blue zipped up sweater ambled out from behind a box. His mouth was plastered into a tiny smile, and one plum eye was wide open. He looked like Seimei, but his ears were missing. Soubi stepped back in surprise and fell backwards over a box.

"Are you…o…kay…Sou…bi?" The doll wondered, walking over with stiff limbs.

"R-Ritsuka…?" Soubi wondered.

The doll smiled. "Sou…bi…?" He reached out to the blonde for a hug.

Soubi gently wrapped his hand around the doll's midsection and pulled him close.

"I…thought…I'd ne…very…see…again…you…" The doll muttered, sobbing tearless sobs into Soubi's shoulder.

"I-It's okay…Ritsuka…I'm here…?" Soubi noted a bite mark on the former young man's arm. "Oh, Ritsuka…"

That would explain why Ritsuka had acted so strange when he came to the office before he left. It wasn't him at all. Seimei must have bitten Ritsuka and infected him with his essence to the point where they'd end up trading bodies. God damn. Seimei was out there somewhere torturing people disguised as Ritsuka. The thought was horrifying.

The front door downstairs opened.

"Hello?" A small woman's voice called into the home. "I'm supposed to see the house today…? Is there a realtor here?"

Ritsuka pulled back from Soubi, eyes glinting with a hint of madness as his mouth stretched into a wicked grin.

"Fresh blood." The doll muttered.

Soubi stood up, setting Ritsuka down on a box.

"Don't make a sound." He ordered.

Ritsuka nodded, opening the box enough to crawl inside. Soubi sighed. Damn Seimei and his curse. It destroyed a very innocent, pacifistic young man, and for what? To give a sadistic killer a new life and new people to ruin? Ridiculous. Soubi straightened out his clothing and shut the door, locking it with a key around his neck that he kept there at all times. It had been an order from Seimei so he could lock up the room for new people to see the house and so Seimei could unlock it from the inside when he felt it was time to reveal himself. He made his way down the stairs and was greeted by the sight of a young woman in her mid-twenties, and a young child, about age four, clinging to her pant leg as he hid behind her.

"I'm Agatsuma Soubi." The blonde greeted. "Please to meet you, MS…?"

"Koya." She greeted. "Koya Home. And this is my son, Koya Taro."

"A pleasure." He bowed. "Would you like a tour?"

"Sure." She smiled gently, picking up her son and following Soubi around the house.

"What's in there?" The little boy asked when they passed the door to Ritsuka's new prison.

Soubi smiled gently. "That depends. Do you believe in ghosts, Taro?"

The little boy grinned, eyes wide in fascination.

Soubi shut off the part of his heart that felt bad for dragging more innocent people into this web of deceit and insanity as he began to tell Taro and his mother the tale of a young boy who died saving his best friend from a terrible fate in this very house, and still lived there as a ghost.

When he was finished, Home giggled. "I think we'll take it." She stated.

Soubi smiled. "Excellent. I'll take you to the office and we can fill out paperwork."

He led her out of the house and down the hill. Looking over his shoulder, Soubi winked at the second story window. He turned back and followed the young mother and son to the office, answering Tarou's seemingly never ending questions about the ghost boy and his friend. In the second story window, the curtains ruffled as a pair of lips grinned, one plum eye blinked and the other stared out, unseeing, into the world he left behind.

"History repeats itself." Ritsuka muttered to himself, grinning evilly the entire time.

Once Soubi was out of sight, the curtains fluttered back into place.


End file.
